Kinetic Spirits: Arc 3 - Fleur
by Fidchell
Summary: A lopunny mother who is trying to overcome her traumatic past and grief continues training hard as Sagefox's disciple. Malgam and his cohorts are getting ever closer to finding what they need to achieve Malgam's goals. What will become of this inevitable clashing of forces? A pokemon-centered story by Fidchell and Raksha. Rated T for violence, language, and disturbing content.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Sagefox's Warning

Evaki, a female noivern, scoured the skies over the Sanctuary forestlands for hours, heeding Sagefox's word of the Witch possibly being out and about the area. The noivern was a recent visitor to the haven, once having been known as a terror of the skies thanks to her impressive feats in the air and the way she swooped down upon her victims. Now she was "retiring" and taking it easy at the Sanctuary, though she certainly did not expect to be helping anyone with a task such as this. Regardless, she figured it would not take much effort, and she had to thank the delphox anyway.

Evaki was given directions by Sagefox to the Witch's caverns, which took the form of a small mountain. The noivern wondered to herself that if the Witch was such a nuisance, then why would they not take measures to destroy the rock itself? Surely the female delphox was not that intimidating that a collected effort would not be effective against her. Regardless, the noivern knew not to question the wise fire-type—there had to be a reason that they stayed idle for so long despite the Witch's bloodlust and her insatiable yearning for Sagefox's death in her hands. For now, she had to stay focused on her mission, which was to survey the area and seek out the malicious delphox. She was told not to do anything else but come back and alert Sage if she were to find any trace of her.

Circling the small mountain that housed the Witch's lair, Evaki could not find anything peculiar about the landmark. She was able to pinpoint the entrance, which appeared as a sharp fissure against a cliff face, but other than that, the noivern was unable to detect anything that distinguished itself from the banal forest landscape. Evaki was thinking about giving up, as she had also searched across the entire area surrounding the Witch's lair as well as the haven. She had located the dilapidated human buildings in the distance and also inspected that section with no success. Evaki even considered going inside out of sheer curiosity, but knew better than to deal with random humans.

A short and quick " _chi"_ escaped from Evaki's throat when her eye finally became attracted to a figure standing on a stony platform off the fissure of the mountain. She was sure that this creature had not been standing there just a minute ago. Upon closer inspection, the noivern gasped quietly to find that it was a female delphox, her coat of an unnatural color. There was no doubt in her mind that this had to be the Witchfox herself. Fear filled her heart as the two locked eyes together. Despite her distance and her advantage in the air, the noivern felt daunted being in the presence of the delphox, as if there was a purely evil aura radiating off of her.

The Witch's eyes appeared to glow as she lifted a hand, pointing towards the noivern. Evaki could say nothing in response, simply bracing herself for what was to come. Her muscles tensed as she flapped her large, powerful wings at a slower pace. Suddenly, a mass of glistening ice shards appeared in front of the Witch, conglomerating as they floated menacingly. A distinct chill ran down Evaki's spine as the shards seemed to be pointing towards her. The noivern reacted with gusto as the shards rocketed towards her with blinding speed. She twisted in the air, dodging most of the terrifyingly sharp ice until one pierced through her right wing. She cried out in pain, blurting out a string of loud " _chi"_ s and circled, gliding away in desperation. There was no way she was staying around that creature any longer. She felt she could understand now why the others were so afraid of her. She had not felt fear of this degree in a very long time.

* * *

Malgam and company returned to their base, the eevee in particular exuberant with the success of their mission, or at least their perceived success. They managed to distribute the posters, as they should have, but that was the easiest part. Malgam was quite ecstatic that they had not riled up too much suspicion or, even worse, caused any fights; that would have surely made the mission a bust, considering how well-connected the creatures of the Sanctuary were. Word would have spread like a wildfire. Now that the posters were handed out, all they had to do now was wait at the door for anybody to come in and join their cause.

The eevee sat on the couch behind his box fort, looking up at the ceiling as he reclined comfortably. He needed to focus on the next part of his mission now—to acquire sylveon! Malgam was waiting patiently for Xerxes to come in, the zoroark having reported a grand success on his end as well. He was able to receive valuable information from the mienshao about the structure of the haven and some of the secrets that lied beneath the ground. Malgam, however, was beginning to notice that the zoroark was taking too long, and feared that he might have been troubling Malice again. He could not let the zoroark die, at least not now; he still had his uses for certain.

The eevee lord sat up, ready to go out and look for the dark type himself when the zoroark appeared suddenly in front of his door. Malgam reeled back in fright, then chuckled nervously, scratching his mane in embarrassment.

"Sweet Arceus, you can be a scary one, you know that?" Malgam said off the side of his lip. Xerxes scoffed and shook his head.

"I have the information you wanted," the zoroark stated quietly, as if he wished to avoid causing a reverberation with his voice. Malgam crossed his arms and bobbed a foot from side to side.

"And I am listening!"

"MeiLi has given me good insight into the hidden creatures living in the Sanctuary. Most of them are trapped beneath the place with ancient ghosts, but some remain above in a constant slumber."

"Well, the one I need is underground, right?"

"Yes," Xerxes confirmed. "The creature you seek goes by the name of ditto."

"Ditto? That sounds kinda funny," Malgam said with an insincere tone that got on Xerxes' nerves immediately.

"The pokémon is very powerful and carries powers of transformation," Xerxes pointed out after a slight pause. Malgam looked like something hit him and he gazed off, pondering on what the zoroark just revealed.

"That is very powerful indeed," the eevee lord said dreamily. "I see where this is going." He clapped his paws together. "We can have this ditto transform into sylveon, and he can tell us all its secrets!"

"I suppose," Xerxes said, leaning against the wall behind him.

"Hm? Are you unsure of something, my dark friend?" Malgam asked snootily. Xerxes hissed softly in disdain.

"Other than the knowledge of its existence, there is no telling what the creature is like or what its own goals are. What makes you think it would want to help you with your mission? Remember that it can transform into anything." Malgam snickered, his body bouncing as he did so.

"Why do you lack faith in me, right-right-hand? I am Lord Malgam. There is nothing that I can't do, and persuading this ditto will be but a leisurely task. Put your trust in me for once, zoroark." Xerxes felt heated up, his annoyance only growing stronger with each second he interacted with the eevee. Now he wanted to get the conversation over with as quickly as possible so that he could leave.

"When do you wish to return to the Sanctuary?" the illusion fox asked. Malgam grinned and stretched out.

"We'll head back there after a couple weeks maybe. I want to see how many of those Sanctuary dwellers we can get into our ranks. This will be an all-out raid!"

* * *

Hildegard wandered about the Sanctuary, still attempting to take in its layout and every little detail that stood out to her. The lucario failed to notice right away that ever since she stepped foot into the haven, there was something off about the place. Sure, it was home to a lot of ailing pokémon and even she would admit that Sagefox and Fleur were doing a good job of monitoring everything and taking care of the sick ones. Regardless, the lucario felt there were secrets buried within—things that Sagefox himself was attempting to hide. The golurk she saw back when she and Sagefox faced each other on that stone arena was certainly a creature of the ancient type. Hildegard does not think she has ever heard of such a golem in her life. It radiated a unique aura that Hilde has not quite let go of despite distancing herself; it permeated the entire Sanctuary. In some areas the aura was weaker, thus Hildegard concluded there must be more ancient pokémon dwelling someplace in the haven. It might have been a long shot, but the lucario hoped that through this aura and the creatures that held them, she could learn the deeper attributes of life itself.

The lucario stopped in her tracks once her eye caught sight of a familiar figure appearing in the midst of the trees. It was approaching her. Stepping out of the shade, the figure revealed itself as Sagefox himself, who held an off-putting, humorless countenance. Hildegard braced herself, as she could detect the delphox's aura, it telling her that he was indeed troubled and even suspecting of her. He then smiled, though his feelings could not be masked.

"Be at ease, Hildegard," he said softly, the lucario unwavering. "Ah, yes." He then chuckled, pointing at the back of his own head. It took Hildegard a while to pick up on what he was gesturing—he was signalling that he understood the function of her sensors. "What amazing creatures you all are, with your aura."

"Don't start patronizing me," Hilde growled.

"I see you're still upset with me," Sagefox sighed, shaking his bowed head. He adjusted his spectacles. "That is a shame. I really do wish I could help you."

"What do you want?" the lucario asked curtly.

"I'm not sure if you have seen any, but not too long ago there were some interesting visitors to the haven," the old delphox explained. "They were handing out posters."

"What?" the Lucario blurted out. "Posters?"

"Posters. You know, big pieces of paper?" Hildegard vigorously waved a paw sideways, telling Sage that she already knew what they were. "They were hoping to recruit some of our residents."

"Don't pokémon just walk in and out of here?" Hildegard questioned firmly. Sagefox nodded with a smile.

"That is true, though there are some that dedicate their time and energy to advancing our living conditions, such as Fleur, or Marmalade. Have you met Marmalade?" he asked. Hildegard's eyes darted from side to side and then she subtly shook her head. "A bayleef?" The lucario remained silent. "You should meet her. She tends to our berry gardens."

"I've seen those," Hilde stated.

"Ah, good! Do you also know we don't feast on each other here? It isn't like the rest of the wilderness."

"Are you accusing me of something?" the lucario snarled.

"No, just making sure you knew is all. We take that quite seriously here."

"Well, I could've figured that."

"Anyway!" the delphox said, beaming. "You have not seen any of these particular pokémon wandering about? Ones with posters?"

"No," she replied bluntly. The delphox suddenly gave Hildegard a suspicious look, to which the lucario slowly put a foot back. Sage played with the tuft of fur from beneath his chin and started to amble towards her casually. Hildegard tensed up, having no idea what the delphox was up to. His mind was clear and she could not detect anything that could give her an advantage.

Sagefox then lashed out, bumping into the lucario roughly with his shoulder. The blow was surprisingly powerful and Hildegard stumbled back. The lucario bared her sharp teeth and growled angrily, going into her ready stance. Regardless of his attack, the delphox did not follow up, appearing dumbfounded. He then laughed and crossed his arms.

"I really do apologize for that, Hildegard."

"What the hell is your problem, you old bastard?!" the lucario shouted in confused rage.

"Please calm down. Let me explain." Hildegard felt a soothing, calming aura flow from the delphox, and it was succeeding in placating her anger. She slowly let go of her stance while keeping a sharp eye on the delphox, her quick breathing decelerating. "When the visitors were here, I thought I caught a glimpse of a zoroark."

"A zoroark?" the lucario repeated. "I've never seen one."

"Zoroarks have an illusion ability. I did not get the closest of looks at the creature, but it appeared to me like it shifted its form, using the body structure of a lucario to mask itself."

"So you think it's still around?"

"I'm not certain, but the posters that were handed out are greatly troubling, their message that is. Would you mind following me to the main grounds?"

* * *

Hildegard proceeded to tail behind Sagefox. She found it a frustrating trek since the delphox took his time moving forward through the forests. Even when she tried to slow her own pace, she eventually found herself moving faster once again. Soon enough, the lucario gave in and walked past Sagefox, the fire type catching her with his peripherals.

"Where are we meeting up?" she said impatiently, to which the old delphox chuckled.

"Easy there, young one. It's just past that line of trees." Surely enough, Hildegard could spot a large clearing past a few rows of trees in front of them. She also noticed that this part of the forest was a little more populated; she spotted movement from within the vegetation and there were even a few pokémon lounging in the clearing itself. Off to the side, she caught sight of a dip in the landscape leading into a river. Water types were hanging around this area, some of them already having eyes set on the duo.

As Hildegard and Sagefox emerged into the clearing, pokémon seemed to begin congregating to the area, as if attracted by the aura coming from the two. Hildegard noticed a sawsbuck approaching them, its movement graceful and its antlers decorated with a bouquet of vibrant, pink flowers. The deer and fox pokémon gazed at each other, nodding respectfully.

"I have a message for everybody. Could you spread the word to meet by the stream clearing?" the old delphox asked gently. The sawsbuck responded with a bow and turned to prance off into the thick of the forest. Other pokémon in the area offered to spread the word as well, to which Sagefox could not refuse—as the quicker everybody could hear his message, the better it would be.

Soon enough, many of the residents of the Sanctuary arrived in the clearing, a lot of them appearing perplexed and nervous. It was not often they had to do anything like this, and Sagefox was very much aware of it. He understood the mass confusion, and hoped he could do away with it as quickly as he could, as he did not wish for discord to linger over them—the Sanctuary was meant to be a place where peace of mind could easily be achieved.

Of course, there was no way the old fox could keep track of every individual who resided in the forestlands, but after enough waiting, he figured that it was a good time to begin relaying his message. Even if he did not reach everybody, the word would surely spread like a wildfire after he was through. Sagefox eased his way through the crowd and towards the middle of the clearing. Once everybody noticed that he was preparing for his message, excited voices quieted down into hushed whispers until eventually there was no sound aside from the rustling leaves of the surrounding trees and the chirping of distant bird pokémon. Off to the side, Sagefox noticed that Fleur had just arrived as well as her children. The rabbit pokémon inched closer to Hildegard, who bitterly eyed the lopunny without turning her head, shuffling slightly away from her.

Gathering a good deal of air in his lungs, Sagefox spoke loudly so that all could hear him. "Everyone, thank you for coming by, and I apologize if I have inconvenienced anybody. We have a situation here in our haven. Have you all received posters from some suspicious individuals?" All the pokémon in the clearing looked at each other for a moment before mutterings of confirmation sounded out, loudening with each passing second.

Sagefox noticed Fleur taking one of her huge ears and digging into the dense but soft fluff that comprised the lower section. She pulled out one of the posters from this fluff, which was folded neatly. Hildegard was watching in awe as the lopunny unfolded the piece of paper, revealing that it was indeed one of the posters. Fleur walked over to Sagefox as the crowd once again grew silent. "Thank you, my dear," Sagefox said with a warm smile as he took the poster, displaying it for all the pokémon to see. He turned his body around so that it could meet everyone's eyes. "This poster signifies the existence of a type of guild. I have met with one of their higher representatives. This drawing here clearly symbolizes him." The delphox pointed at the silly drawing of the strange eevee, who was adorned with a broad chest and powerful muscles. Stifled giggles could be heard within the crowd along with quiet chatter. "It may be humorous, but I must warn all of you now. Do not associate yourself with anybody from this guild."

"Are they evil, Mr. Sagefox?" a familiar, young voice sounded out from the crowd. Sagefox detected the direction from where it came and he spotted the curious growlithe amongst the group, his arcanine mother looming over him and shaking her head with an embarrassed grin.

"As of now I cannot say for sure, Rory," Sagefox explained. "But rest assured they cannot be trusted. There is no telling what their goal is, but I am to find out. They can easily blend into our society except for one specific creature. He is the very eevee drawn on this poster." Sagefox pointed out the drawing once again and waved the poster in the air. "If any of you spot him or a representative of this guild, please find me, Fleur, or MeiLi immediately and report it. Have I made myself clear?" Short mutters sounded from the audience as they all nodded in understanding. "Good! Now—"

Before Sagefox could continue, a cacophony of shrill _chi_ s blared from the sky accompanied with heavy flapping sounds. Everyone looked towards the canopy opening above to see the figure of a noivern clumsily hovering down into the clearing. Pokémon made way as the noivern landed, skidding slightly as she attempted to compensate her balance for her sloppy landing. The dragon-flying type breathed heavily, turning her attention to Sagefox.

"I saw her," the bat-like creature blurted out.

"Easy now, Evaki, easy," Sagefox said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Oof! Watch it!" she shrieked.

"What happened?"

"The Witch was outside of her hole," Evaki said while trying to catch her breath. "She almost diced me up." Evaki showed off her wings, which were torn in a few places. Pitiful murmurs and revolted gasps emanated from the crowd.

"Thank you, Evaki." Sagefox turned to Fleur, who was standing by. "Fleur, would you escort her to our medical center and patch up these wounds?" The lopunny was aghast at this request and her jaw trembled.

"M-Me?" she asked, putting a hand up to her breast. "I don't know if I can treat injuries that grievous, I mean…"

"Why do you doubt yourself? You've made excellent progress on your abilities."

"I mean, would there not be better results if you were to use your powers? This seems quite serious!"

"Fleur, you must trust yourself. Consider this a test. I know that you can do it," Sagefox stated with great confidence in his tone. Fleur did not say another word, and the delphox knew that the lopunny simply did not wish to question him further in the midst of so many open ears. Eventually, the mother nodded and Sagefox grinned widely in response, proud of his student.

"Wait, did you call this a test? You're using me as a test subject? I can't fly properly like this, you know!" Evaki squawked rebelliously.

"She will take good care of you, Evaki. We've gone through extensive medical training, and she needs this type of situation," the delphox explained. Evaki just sputtered cynically as she ambled over to Fleur. As the two pokémon exited, another came rushing into the scene, the crowd parting as they barrelled inward.

"Make way, please! Make way! Sorry!" Sagefox saw that the creature was none other than Marmalade the bayleef, tender to the berry gardens. Once the two met eyes, she shouted, "Sage!"

"Marm, my friend, what is the matter?" the delphox asked. He was quite taken aback by all the interruptions, but he considered the warning to have been disseminated by this point. He turned to the crowd quickly to give his final remark. "Everyone, heed my warning! You can carry on with your day now. Thank you for listening!" Everyone began to scatter while some stayed behind to see what Marmalade was upset about.

"It's Sol," she finally revealed, to which Sage swallowed dryly, only foreseeing something bad. "He's rooted again. I'll show you where he is."

* * *

Sagefox followed the bayleef while others trailed behind, curious enough to spectate, as Sol was a well known member of the haven. Sure enough, the grovyle was found beneath a large tree, sleeping away with such stillness that one might have considered him dead. All around his body, thick roots have grown and embedded themselves beneath the ground and into the very tree he slept against.

"I could not cut through the roots," Marmalade stated with frustration. "How many times has this happened now?"

"This would be the third time," Sagefox said with a hint of sadness. "It is very worrying indeed."

"How do you suppose this actually happens?" the bayleef asked in wonderment. The two pokémon stood there for a minute, pondering.

"I really can't say," the delphox replied, approaching Sol's body. He squatted down, his robe-like fur sweeping against the grass. He reached out and poked at one of the roots with his claw, Marmalade and the others watching intently.

"So you've broken him free before?" the bayleef asked inquisitively.

"I have. I'm just trying to wrap my head around this. Sol's body has already grown vegetation of its own," he disclosed, pointing to the vine-like tendrils that sprouted over his arms. "This might just be an extreme growth effect from staying in one place for too long, and it would not surprise me if that were true." Moans and mutterings of interest rang out among the group.

Sagefox whipped out a new stick he had carved, which was hidden inside the furry sleeve that lined his forearm. Grasping it gently, he brought the stick down so that its tip pointed at the root that he had touched previously. A small flame flickered at the tip and smothered the vine. The flame grew and compressed in cycles, as if Sagefox were controlling the intensity of the fire. The root began to crackle and break apart, the fire strong enough to sear through its tough skin and pierce into it. Soon enough, the root snapped in two, and Sagefox proceeded to do the same to the rest of the vines until Sol was completely freed.

Even after Sage removed the roots, Sol remained asleep. Standing over him with a disappointed look, the delphox scratched his chin, appearing perturbed. Sagefox took his stick once again and inched the tip down over Sol's snout. He hovered it underneath the grovyle's jaw and everyone remained quiet with anticipation. He then moved it so that the stick's tip was directly in front of Sol's snout. He caused a flame to ignite at the tip, one small enough so that it would not hurt the lizard pokémon.

In a matter of seconds, Sol's entire body twitched violently as he awakened from his slumber, scrambling against the tree and grunting in surprise. His eyes grew wide and he started hyperventilating. Sagefox immediately went to the grovyle and set his hands on his shoulders, trying to placate him.

"Sol, calm down!" the delphox shouted. Sol gradually began to compose himself in the presence of the old fox, his breathing slowing as well. Silence hung over the air, the atmosphere tense. The grovyle kept his back against the tree, his eyes trailing downward as he contemplated quietly. Sagefox sighed deeply. "Sol, your sleeping habits are dangerous." The lizard turned his head to the side, scowling. "All the idling you do is taxing on your body. If you continue to laze about this way, you might even become one with the forest."

Sol grunted audaciously and said with a dry tone, "Maybe I should. I'm not worth anything." With that, he began to walk off angrily. Sagefox gazed at him as he disappeared in the distance, unable to speak out to the grovyle. His disappointment and sadness disabled him from pushing his lecture further. At this point he was not sure what to do about Sol.

Marmalade approached him with her head slightly bowed, sensing his defeated countenance.

"Sage, are you alright?" she asked, already knowing the answer. The delphox crossed his arms, still looking out into the forest.

"Why has he become so neglectful and discouraged? When he first came in, he was full of life and potential," Sagefox said. "Could it be that I pushed him too hard? Did I dampen his spirit during a training exercise? I just cannot recall."

"Don't beat yourself up," Marmalade spoke up, attempting to cheer him. "We just have to focus on the now. I'll make sure to keep an eye on him and see that he doesn't do anything crazy, alright?" Sagefox eyed the bayleef, a warm smile forming on his face. He nodded to her in acknowledgement and respect.

"Thank you."

"It could be a condition too. Mental maybe. Perhaps one of my berries might help treat him."

"I considered that one time. At this point, it's certainly more plausible," Sagefox said. "Whatever it is, though, I can't help but feel I could be part of the reason for it."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: An Alarming Shortage

Malgam lied proudly on his new throne, which was constructed with his sofa serving as the main framework. Metal boxes and other objects held up the sofa a few feet off the ground, which Malgam certainly thought gave it a more regal look. The unattractive metal objects holding up the couch were then promptly covered with a purple curtain that was torn from one of the other rooms in the facility. The throne was not exactly complete, but the eevee lord was already very much proud of the work that his cohorts have done to get it this far. He reclined on the couch, stretching out his stout body with a giant yawn as he prepared for his nap. The first half of this day was quite busy, as more pokémon showed up to join his cause. As far as he knew, everything was going very swimmingly, and this was enough of a reason for him to lay back and bask in his success.

This period of respite was cut short, however, by a knocking sound on his door. Malgam ignored it at first, hoping that it would send the message that he would rather not deal with anyone right now. Another knock caused the little lord to grit his teeth in frustration. He sat up and hovered off the couch, scratching his belly as he neared the door. He put on the most deep scowl he could muster before the sliding doors swished open to reveal Plume, who looked mortified. The quilava was even shaking.

Malgam sighed, putting a paw on his face. He said, "This better be good."

Plume continued to gently quake, small flames puffing out off her back. "I-It's not good, my Lord. It's not good at all." Malgam put his paws on his hips, raising his lip in annoyance.

"Is that so? Is this not something you three could have solved yourselves?"

"No, my Lord. This is something out of our league completely."

"Well, tell me what happened!" Malgam yapped at the fearful quilava, who shrunk back in surprise.

Her voice quivered as she replied, "We're...completely out of the Pokepuffs."

* * *

Malice sat in her usual spot, staring out into the cloudy sky that peered through the large hole in the ceiling. The scent that came through from the outdoors was almost intoxicating to the mewtwo, and she was not sure why. It was the smell of fresh rain, preparing to make its way back down into the earth. She felt that the humidity had raised significantly as well. It was very tempting to go outside just to take in the air, but she could not do it. Truthfully, she would be more than embarrassed if someone were to catch her. At this point it was her intention to strike fear into all the annoying pokémon running around the facility. This objective even clouded over her original goal many times, which was to try to break through the monstrous steel door of the vault.

The mewtwo looked around the large chamber she was in and noticed the golden tiara that was still lying just several yards from her. Studying the object previously had caused her to plunge into a myriad of nonsensical flashbacks. Malice had always carried a morbid curiosity to figure out what about the object affected her so, and what its importance was meant to foretell. She could not even figure out what made it important to her in the first place, which caused her to thirst even more for knowledge on the strange tiara.

Reluctantly, Malice ambled over to the small crown, feeling her skin tingle with every inch she approached it. The object glistened under the light from above, causing the mewtwo to squint her eyes. The same sensation she felt when grasping the thing for the first time was crawling up her back even now when she did not have it in her hands. Malice, surprisingly enough, sensed a bit of fear, as if something inside of her was shuddering and pathetically shrinking away, not wanting to be subject to the horrors that lied ahead. Malice stood over the tiara now, gazing down on it with her skin clammy. Swallowing dryly, the mewtwo slowly bent over to pick up the crown.

Before she could do this, however, she became distracted by a sudden, distant series of pattering against the tiled flooring from behind her. The mewtwo swiveled her head slightly to look at the scene off the side of her eye. Numerous pokémon were rushing across the hallway adjacent to the main chamber, most of them not paying the mewtwo any mind. The ones that did quickly looked away. Every single one of them had a look of utter perturbation on their faces. Malice glared at the crowd, sensing something was wrong. Usually the pokémon here were quite liberal in their actions and wandered where they wished, but this appeared coordinated. The mewtwo felt a clenching in her stomach, the gnawing of hunger filling her abdomen.

* * *

"Is everyone here?" Malgam asked Xerxes in a whisper as several more pokémon crowded into the large cafeteria. It was not very often that the eevee lord had to assemble the entire army together, but even he was astonished at how much his group had grown and flourished. He was even more surprised at how his underlings actually managed to gather everybody together, considering how they normally went off to fulfill their own desires. It was quite chaotic in the facility, and this one session where everyone conglomerated together filled Malgam with an almost overwhelming sense of pride.

The zoroark looked around the area and scanned the crowd, then shrugged, to which the eevee lord huffed in annoyance.

"You weren't keeping a roster of some kind?" the eevee asked with a snide tone.

"Since when did we bother with that?" Xerxes hissed back. Malgam groaned impatiently.

"Nevermind. We'll just have to hope one of these guys can help us with this." With that, Malgam floated over the whole group, flicking a paw at the zoroark, signaling for him to shut the door, which the dark type eventually did. Chattering amongst the crowd started to die down once all eyes started to trail towards the hovering eevee lord. He was thankful that the cafeteria was spacious enough and considered using it for these types of meetings from now on. In this current situation, however, he needed it for a very special reason.

"The Lord is here!" Malgam heard one of the pokémon say.

"Hail!" another shouted out, several more following suit with the same interjection. Malgam felt his heart flutter, strengthened by his followers' faithfulness despite the grimness of the present circumstances. The eevee lord did a bow, then proceeded with his exposition.

"My wonderful followers, thank you for joining me. We have, uh, a bit of a problem right now and I am hoping to find somebody that can help me sort this out." The room grew deathly quiet and Malgam licked his lips nervously. "You see, we had a cache of these lovely cakes, and I thought that our supply was abundant enough that it would last for quite a long time. Unfortunately, that is not the case." Again there was awkward silence. "I know most of you don't know about this cache, but these cakes are special. They are meant to be devoured by none other than my right hand, Malice." He paused for several seconds before clarifying. "The mewtwo." There were a few quiet gasps in the crowd.

Xerxes called out to shatter the quiet atmosphere. "What makes these cakes so special?"

"Yeah!" a pokémon called out from within the large group. "Why couldn't we have some?" Mutterings started to louden in the cafeteria, seemingly in agreement.

Malgam shouted out, "Look, guys, you don't understand the gravity of the situation! These cakes are special because they are the only things that will keep Malice at bay! You have no idea what I had to deal with in our first times together. As long as these cakes are within our grasp, we can quell the mewtwo."

"These cakes," Bernard started, who was seated in the crowd in such a manner that he almost blended in. "Are they called pokepuffs?"

"Yes," Malgam confirmed. "Pokepuffs. We need more pokepuffs." He was somewhat ashamed to admit it. The eevee lord greatly disliked having his pride hurt in any way. "I have no idea how these delicate foods are constructed, and I need to know if anyone in here has any experience in crafting these puffs." The following silence filled Malgam with dread. If Malice were to go back to being as moody and unpleasant as she was before the puffs, she would surely drive everyone out.

"Um," someone uttered out, the voice feminine. Malgam's heart nearly leapt out of his chest.

"Yes! Who? Who is willing and ready to assist me in this endeavor?!" the eevee lord cried out in relief. A lilligant raised her hand hesitantly, to which Malgam hovered down to her, shaking her outstretched hand vigorously. "How brave you are, Miss! How loyal and brave! You will be rewarded greatly, I can assure you. Now, what is it that you know about these puffs?"

The lilligant appeared very nervous but attempted to keep her bearing, saying, "My trainer showed me how to make them back when we owned a bakery. They were very popular. It was quite a long time ago, though. I may need some brushing up."

"That is perfectly fine," Malgam said, chuckling in an almost maniacal manner. "That's excellent! We can get started here as soon as possible then!"

"Good to hear," a familiar and dark voice sounded from the distance, cold shivers coursing from underneath Malgam's coat. He gazed ahead to find that Malice was in the room, nearby Xerxes. The zoroark reeled back, startled. The mewtwo casually leaned against the corner, glaring at the eevee lord. No one dared make a sound.

"Oh, hello there!" Malgam responded, his voice trailing off.

"You have something to tell me?" Malice asked, the chill of her voice enough to cause an abomasnow to shiver.

"Err, well, we're just starting to run a bit low on the puffs, but we're having a little meeting so that we can find someone to make more! No need to worry! I found somebody just now!" he exclaimed while grasping the frightened lilligant by her shoulders. Malice crossed her arms, appearing very impatient.

"I haven't had anything to eat all morning," the mewtwo said. "You might want to think of something quickly."

"We're on it! Don't worry, you'll have some pokepuffs inside you in no time!" the eevee lord said with an unconvincing chuckle, his head hot with embarrassment and dread in the possibility that he will not be able to keep his word.

* * *

"All this over some stupid cakes. Arceus damn it, this is ridiculous," Malgam muttered angrily as he paced back and forth on the cafeteria floor. The meeting had ended not too long ago. Lilligant, Bernard, and some others stayed behind, the lilligant obviously because of her knowledge of pokepuffs. Bernard stayed behind under Malgam's orders because he mentioned the name of the pokepuffs in the first place, thus the eevee lord figured he might also carry some understanding of them. The remaining pokémon stayed just to ensure that Malgam would satisfy Malice's wishes so that they do not wind up as the mewtwo's next meal.

After some hard thinking, the eevee lord collected himself and hovered over to the nervous lilligant. As he did, he asked, "So what is it with these pokepuffs?"

The lilligant looked baffled for a moment, looking at the others as if seeking an answer. She gazed back at Malgam, replying with a bit of a stammer, "I—I don't know what you mean, Lord Malgam." The eevee groaned but understood he needed to be patient. Lilligant was his only real hope in getting the cakes made to quell Malice's rage.

"I mean, what makes them so great that it even keeps that moody mewtwo content? It's really funny thinking about it now." Malgam put a paw on his chin as he gazed upwards dreamily. "It's like she just needed a bit of sweetness in her dark, grimy core." He then clapped his paws together, rubbing them in anticipation. "Anyway! Let's get down to business. We need to make pokepuffs! How proficient do you think you'll be? How much do you know?"

The lilligant was taken aback by Malgam's prying approach and leaned back in discomfort. "Well, as I said, my experience with them is a tad limited at the moment. I haven't helped bake a pokepuff in a long time."

"Well, what do you remember about it?" Malgam said with a slightly condescending inflection.

"I know the first things we'll need are a baking dish, an oven, and then the ingredients for the cakes themselves. The pokepuffs were here in the first place, yes?" she asked, starting to appear more poised.

"Yes, they were in storage," Malgam replied with an expectant tone.

"So perhaps the ingredients will be present." Lilligant proceeded to list out the components needed to create pokepuffs with difficulty, showing that she indeed was out of touch for a while.

Eventually they were all spelled out, and Malgam recited what the lilligant relayed to him. "Flour, butter, sugar, eggs." He felt enlightened, but at the same time disappointed. He figured that there was some super-chemical that made the cakes so delightful to a creature like Malice. A thought then popped up in the eevee lord's head and his eyes widened. "That stuff on top, the really tasty stuff! What is that called?"

"The frosting?" the lilligant pointed out reluctantly.

"Yes! That stuff! What is that made out of?" To Malgam's chagrin, the lilligant looked very unsure, gazing away to think about it.

"The frosting...was always just provided to us. We would buy those ourselves, just like we bought the basic ingredients such as the flour or butter."

"So it all just came in the container?" Malgam asked, to which the lilligant nodded. That must have been it then—the secret lied in the frosting itself! That part of the cakes tasted incredible. It was all starting to make sense now. "This magical substance, do you think it could be around here too?" Malgam thought out loud.

"It's very possible." The lilligant again nodded. Malgam proceeded to send all the pokémon in the room out to locate the ingredients that the lilligant listed out. To his relief, most of them were already in the vicinity. The flour, eggs, butter, and sugar were all present, along with the oven, which was planted along the wall with a myriad of other appliances foreign to Malgam, let alone the rest of the pokémon. It took a little more effort to locate the dish as well as the frosting tubes, but it brought the eevee great relief to know that everything was present. The dish itself was shaped in such a way that placing the cakes would be relatively easy, depressions set in rows along the pan. Lilligant also found what she called "baking cups," which were, to Malgam, just pieces of paper that would give the puffs their basic shape when baked.

With everything set up and ready to be utilized, Malgam inspected the tubes full of frosting. He was tempted to eat it all up himself, but thankfully he knew better. He squeezed out a small amount, pushing the tube against the counter, then scooped up the frosting with a paw. He put it into his mouth, feeling his mouth tingling with pleasure once the sugary substance touched his small tongue.

"This is great. This is really quite great," he drawled happily. "So show us how to craft these wonderful cakes." He turned to the lilligant, who appeared ready to begin.

For the next thirty minutes or so, a batter was created using the basic components of the recipe. It turned out to be quite messy, but sixteen cakes would be created with the equipment they currently had. This would be for one session, and should suffice for Malice for the next couple days at least. At this rate, they could create plentiful supplies in no time, which would grow even larger with each session. Malgam could not express how joyful he was at how well this was all turning out. He was almost tempted to promote the lilligant on the spot, but knew that they still had to present the pokepuffs to Malice and make sure they satisfied her in the first place.

For another grueling twenty minutes, timed specifically by lilligant herself, the pokepuffs were finally ready, at least for the next step which involved the most important part in Malgam's view—applying the mysterious frosting. Lilligant showed him how to decorate the cakes' heads, Malgam watching attentively. At first she struggled, but quickly picked it up once again, topping off the cakes with a grace and elegance that Malgam had never seen before.

After the decoration was completed, Malgam realized that they were missing the little candy bits over the frosting that took on various shapes, such as crescent moons or stars, but he was already getting impatient; he wanted to present the cakes to Malice to appease her as soon as he could. He figured that Malice would not miss the candy bits and might not even notice. Letting the cakes cool off for a short time, Malgam took the tray and prepared to leave, having lilligant tail behind him in case something were to go wrong.

* * *

"Do you think it'll be okay?" she asked as they made their way down the corridor leading to the chamber Malice so often dwelled in.

"What, do you have no confidence in your craft?" Malgam asked back. "Don't fall apart on me now. I'm sure she will enjoy these quite a bit." He put his nose over the cakes, taking a long sniff. Sighing dreamily, he said, "If I could I would just eat all these up myself. They smell marvelous."

Once they reached the large room, surely enough Malice was seated in the center, looking like she was expecting their arrival. Malgam noticed something shocking when he had a good enough look at the mewtwo—she was wearing the golden tiara around her neck now. The piece of jewelry was slinging around the psychic type's neck with a flimsy piece of string. It was heavily distracting for the eevee, but he tried to remain focused on the current task at hand. Hovering over to her, the lilligant trailing behind very slowly, he presented the baking pan filled with pokepuffs, warm and ready to eat.

"See? Only the best for my favorite right hand!" he said with a wide grin, the glare off his teeth enough to blind somebody. The mewtwo gazed back and forth between the pokepuffs and Malgam before finally reaching to grab one. Malgam pulled the dish back suddenly, meeting Malice's glare once again. "Be careful now, they're a bit hot!"

Bringing her hand back, an invisible, powerful force wrested the dish from Malgam's grasp, the pan banging against the floor noisily as the cakes flew out of their slots. Malice picked one up off the floor and inspected it for a while, Malgam and the lilligant stone-still.

"Where are the candies?" the mewtwo uttered with contempt. Malgam's stomach dropped, his chest feeling hollow. She actually noticed they were missing. Were they her favorite part? Regardless, the mewtwo sniffed the cake with her eyes closed. Malgam thought he could see her lip raise just a little, which brought him relief. Without any more hesitation, Malice put the whole pokepuff into her mouth, chewing greedily as crumbs flew out of her mouth. Suddenly, she stopped chewing. It occurred so quickly that Malgam thought that time had stopped.

Malice turned to face the eevee and spit out the cake violently, saliva and chewed up bits pelting his entire body. Malgam hovered in place without a single movement, not believing what just happened.

"It's too chewy and tastes subpar. Do it again," the mewtwo demanded haughtily. Malgam, looking horribly defeated, floated over to pick up the pan and then, without a word, left the scene, the lilligant following him like a lost, frightened child. Once the two disappeared, Malice gazed over at the fallen pokepuffs littering the ground. After a long moment of silence, she picked up another and shoved it into her mouth.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Lord Malgam, p—please forgive me," the lilligant said, her voice choked by tears streaming down her face. They were back in the kitchen, Malgam facing away from the grass type in severe disappointment. The bits of pokepuff that stuck onto his fur were being slowly picked off by a couple of his cohorts, an armaldo and a gliscor. Malgam was fuming not just about what happened at the chamber, but also about how resources were wasted. He knew he should not have asked for a full batch.

"Chewy and tastes subpar," the eevee lord muttered, repeating what Malice had criticized him on. "Where did we go wrong?"

"I—I need more time to perfect my craft. A lot more goes into this, you see."

"You said you were good at this!" Malgam shouted, whirling around to meet her glassy eyes. "How could you have messed up like that?! Everything was looking perfect! What do you mean a lot more goes into this?!" The lilligant started bawling, which put out the flames that were growing within the angered eevee. He suddenly felt incredibly guilty and reminded himself that lilligant was the closest they were going to get to serving up pokepuffs on their own from now on. "Hey, hey, look, I didn't mean to do that." This was yet another conflicting moment for Malgam, for he did not want to appear so weak, especially after he was already embarrassed in front of her by Malice's rejection.

Lilligant began to calm down, cupping her hands together against her breast, her breaths quivering.

"I will perform better, Lord Malgam. I—I just need more time." Malgam was relieved she did not take it as hard as he thought she would.

Before he could continue, he noticed a loud series of pattering against the floor in the distance. Soon enough, Bernard entered the kitchen in a rush, his face lighting up once he found Malgam. All eyes were on the rock type now as he excitedly announced, "Lord Malgam! I managed to sniff out a hidden cache of pokepuffs!" Bernard proceeded to lead them all to the cache, which was located in a lone storage room to the other far end of the building. It was not often that Malgam visited this area, but the pokepuffs were indeed there, tucked away inside of a wooden cupboard against the corner. All of Malgam's troubles seemed to dissipate as he gazed at the collection of cakes that lined the shelves. This would be enough to satisfy Malice for a few days, and they could even use some as a template so that lilligant could more easily compare to the work that Malice expected.

Malgam could not hold it in any longer. He felt his chest would burst at any moment. The eevee lord threw his head back and let out a maniacal series of roaring laughter which reverberated down the halls.

* * *

Fleur set out into the forest, making it her mission to locate the grovyle Sol. After what she heard happened with him being rooted, she was more curious than ever to find out what made the lethargic grovyle tick and what had caused him to fall out so far from the sagely delphox who served as his mentor. She was rather frustrated at how Sol was treating him, but she had to approach slowly and learn to control her annoyance so she does not come off as hasty.

Coming across the large lake where she forced a certain lucario to bathe herself, Fleur gazed across the still surface and then eyed the shorelines, lined with numerous cattails and tall weeds. Squinting her eyes, she thought she saw a familiar figure off to the other side of the lake. The bright green of the figure and a flash of pink gave it away as the body of Sol. Surprisingly, the grovyle did not seem to be reclined, but instead looked very mopey, his back arched forward as he sat, his lower legs submerged in the lake. Seeing Sol this way caused a pang of sadness to wash over Fleur, and she even considered walking off and leaving him be, but her curiosity remained strong. She hoped that she could possibly help him while also learning more about the grass type.

Circling the lakeside, Fleur eventually approached close enough to be several paces away from the grovyle. His golden eyes were open, staring aimlessly ahead, and she knew that he had noticed her already. Fleur sighed to break the silence and said, "Nice evening we have." She heard the grovyle huff lightly in subtle agreement. The lopunny mother slowly walked closer to him until there were only a few paces left, then sat down and dipped her own feet into the lake. Sol took his feet out of the water and turned his back towards Fleur, starting to walk away.

Reaching out, Fleur called out, "Sol, wait!" The grovyle stopped but did not turn his head. The grass type was reminding Fleur a lot of Hildegard. "I just want to talk to you. I want to know about your past."

"What an oddly specific thing to want to know about," Sol muttered.

"I know you are upset right now. I was hoping maybe talking could help you. I'm here to listen to what you have to say."

"There's nothing to say," Sol insisted, crossing his arms. "At this rate I'm going to become a tree." His voice choked as he spoke, like he were on the verge of tears.

"Sol, please, I know you have much to say. My ears are open," Fleur said with a tone warm enough to melt ice. "Sit down with me." To the lopunny's relief, the grovyle appeared to be thinking about it, which was a great first step. Soon enough, Sol decided to rejoin the rabbit pokémon, seating himself on the shore line once again. He plucked a slightly thick weed from the lake and put it in his mouth, chewing on it.

After a couple minutes, the grovyle finally mustered the energy to talk. "I got here when I was a treecko."

"Wow, was it a while ago then?" Fleur asked with interest.

"Yes. I evolved a few summers ago, actually," he smirked and chuckled. "That was a real milestone for me. I was so proud of myself. But anyway," the smile disappeared as quickly as it formed. "I was attacked by a murder of murkrow when I was very little. I nearly died from the attack." Fleur moaned sadly as Sol continued. "I was lucky to be alive, because Sage was there not too far away. He took me in and nursed me to good health. This was around the time he just founded the haven, when he wasn't so gray and wrinkled."

Fleur laughed. "You don't think he's still handsome?" Both the pokémon laughed, easing the tension a bit. "So there was no one else there but him when he met you?"

"Yes," Sol confirmed with a prideful, slight smile. "Granted he has cared for plenty others already, but he never established any sort of sanctuary. He simply dwelled in the human ruins." Fleur wondered what it was like for Sagefox at that time. She knew what he had done and gone through to eventually wind up in his position, but what inspired the haven? It seemed to have gone from a place to nurse sick pokémon, to a home for many. "After he healed me, I wanted to stay with him. I was deathly afraid of the wilderness after what happened to me. He agreed and took me under his wing. That's when I became his student."

"And you stuck with his program until you became a grovyle?" Fleur asked, her heart beating in anticipation for any hints on how their falling out came to be. Sol, however, took a while to respond, looking very hesitant and expressing irritation. Fleur continued, "I mean, you two don't seem to get along anymore." With that, Sol stood up and paced away a few feet, turning his back to her again. Fleur was disappointed to see him so adamant to share this information with her.

"Sagefox worked me to the bone. I trained so hard and it took years to achieve this form."

"He told me that you were half-way to getting your final evolution," Fleur pointed out, noticing the yellow bulbs on his back that resembled that of sceptile's.

"It seems that way, but the training was harsh. Again, he worked me over and over and progress was so slow. I just did not care anymore after I got this form. It felt good at first but—" Sol stopped speaking, once again grunting and groaning, as if he himself did not know exactly why he detested Sagefox so.

"I understand," Fleur said, trying to assure the grovyle that it was good for him to vent out the inner turmoil.

"I don't care about much of anything. I just want to sleep the days away."

"How much more training do you think you have to do before you evolve again?"

"I'm not going through that anymore!" Sol swiped his arm, a flurry of sharp leaves escaping from it and slicing into the water surface with hardly a ripple. Fleur was taken aback, gazing at the grovyle in wonder. After a long moment of silence, Sol turned his head, though his eyes were directed upwards. "I owe Sage my life, but the way he treated me left some scars. I know he has tried to approach me a lot, wanting to say he's sorry but—" Sol turned his head forward again, Fleur almost catching a glimpse of a glint in his eye. "No more," he muttered. "Just no more." Sol walked away and the lopunny mother let him go. She wondered to herself how bad it could have been that the grovyle distanced himself so much. She thought that perhaps during the days he founded the Sanctuary, Sage was not used to holding a mentor position and had a hard time appealing to Sol because of his harshness. It could have simply been inexperience that caused this unfortunate falling out between the two pokémon. Fleur was not sure what she could do for them. Sol was very stubborn about his stance, and she could not imagine what could bring them back together. Maybe it just had to be left to time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Wayward Azumarill

Another quiet, peaceful night fell over the Sanctuary, the air still and perfectly lukewarm. The chirruping of insects hung in the atmosphere as pokémon everywhere prepared for their nightly slumber. Fleur was still wide awake, exploring inside one of the ruins that served as a library for the human inhabitants, at least according to Sagefox. The chamber she was in was of a cylindrical shape, with a spiraling, stone staircase rising upwards towards the destroyed roof, the stairs eventually coming to an abrupt, crumbling end themselves. The main floor had rows of wooden bookshelves lined in a sporadic manner. Despite the destructive incident that occurred in the past, whichever that was, there were plenty of books that remained unscathed in the room.

Sagefox was able to use these books to enhance his own skills, and the delphox indulged Fleur in her own potential in acquiring some of these skills. Fleur was astounded of the knowledge that Sagefox carried about her own species and what she was capable of. Even though it would normally be very difficult, the lopunny mother was progressing well, at least that is what the old fox assured her. Powers like telekinesis and healing were the main focus for her. Being a physical fighter for all of her life, this type of training was quite an experience all in its own, opening up an entirely new world to her. She never imagined she would be able to accomplish these extraordinary abilities.

Turning her head towards a fallen book to her left, she zoned out, focusing her attention on the object. She concentrated so hard that all the sounds of nature outside were drowned out. Blackness formed around the edges of her vision as her concentration grew more tense. She could feel the blood pumping in her head and she considered backing out, afraid of causing damage to herself. Suddenly, the book twitched and then swung open, the ancient pages flipping as if a gust of wind passed. Fleur snapped out of her focused state and felt her entire body tingle, as if her pulse had slowed and tried to keep up once again. What just happened was definitely an improvement from the last time she attempted using telekinetic powers. It was surprisingly invigorating this time and the lopunny started feeling woozy, her ears ringing. She leaned against the cool brick wall and slid down until her rump hit the floor. She raised her head upwards and started to breathe deeply and slowly, her vision swirling. Despite how it affected her body, the lopunny was quite proud of herself and saw this as good progress.

Once the dizziness subsided and her senses returned to normal, Fleur's ears twitched in response to a sudden loud yell echoing from the outdoors. Keeping perfectly still for about a minute, Fleur listened intentively to see if another sound would follow. Curiosity overwhelming her, the rabbit pokémon leapt up onto her feet and walked speedily towards a hole on a nearby brick wall for a quick exit. Emerging into the moonlit forest, Fleur blinked a few times and gazed around, keeping her alertness high and looking out for anything that could be moving within the vegetation. She thought she could see a shiny texture standing out from behind a cluster of shrubs. Circling around it, the lopunny nearly gasped at what she saw—the vaporeon that tried to attack them from before was there, belly down on the ground and shivering. At first glance it looked like there was nothing wrong with him, but she needed to be sure.

Fleur prepared to squat down to assist him, but the vaporeon suddenly leapt back in fright, his large, glistening eyes staring at her with a look of pure anxiety. Once he realized it was her, his body relaxed and his head fell. The vaporeon sat on his haunches, his chest visibly heaving.

"Are you alright?" Fleur asked, her voice soothing enough to get the vaporeon to open up.

"I feel terrible," he bluntly said, his head still bowed. "There's something wrong. I'm so uneasy."

"Uneasy? What is bothering you?"

"I feel like something is following me. Not really...in physical form, I mean, like, in my head. Something is haunting me." His voice choked towards the end. Fleur felt great pity for the water-type; the vaporeon was clearly very afraid, and unfortunately Fleur was unsure of how to proceed, especially with how this appeared to be a problem that dealt with the mental side. Of course, the lopunny knew exactly who could help in that.

Fleur asked the vaporeon to follow her. At this time of night, Sagefox was normally in one place and she hoped that would not have changed tonight. She led the vaporeon to the raised temple which happened to be not too far from the library. The two pokémon walked up the ancient stone stairs, the air becoming more still and the atmosphere more quiet the higher they went. Entering the maw of the large, archaic synagogue, the lopunny and vaporeon wandered the large interior, the mere sound of their soft pawsteps reverberating slightly. Fleur feared the delphox might not be in the temple after all, until she noticed a sweeping noise from the distance. Peering into the darkness ahead, she thought she could see a long, robed figure. Dusty torches that lined the walls suddenly lit up brilliantly, giving much-needed, warm light to the interior, dust motes flittering around the air. Indeed Sagefox stood in front of them, welcoming them with an old smile.

Fleur explained the vaporeon's situation to the delphox, who appeared to understand even before she began. He suggested that the two follow him into one of the smaller rooms in the back. Taking them to one of these rooms, Sagefox set the vaporeon onto a stone table, the water-type looking more relaxed than before; this was simply a response to the strangely soothing aura that emanated from the delphox.

Sagefox put the vaporeon to sleep with a gentle spell of hypnosis and then turned to Fleur.

"Did you manage to find Sol?" he asked, the question catching her off guard considering what they were doing right now.

"I—uh—yes, I did find him by the lake," she confirmed. Sage chuckled softly.

"Do I need to ask how it went?" Fleur just crossed her arms, appearing unamused.

"He's quite stubborn, but something is definitely troubling him."

"Just as something troubles this poor creature, yes?" he said sadly, turning to face the sleeping vaporeon. Fleur took a while to process what he was inferring.

"Have you done this to him too?" the lopunny asked with increasing interest.

"It was not difficult in the slightest," the old delphox laughed again. "Seeing as how he was asleep most of the time. But yes, I tried doing this to him too. I wanted to understand what had made him so upset at me. As you might have already guessed, the answer is not so complex."

"The answer?"

"Did you figure it out yet?" Fleur shook her head. "It's the lifestyle he chose."

"He chose to be lazy?" she asked, baffled.

"It is strange, I know. He had so much potential when he was a lot younger, and then suddenly after he evolved, he got too comfortable. He became too complacent I suppose." The delphox sighed and looked off in a daze. "You know, I still feel somewhat confused, even if the answer is clear. I worry that maybe there's something I didn't manage to pick up. Does he dislike me for something else?" After a moment of silence in which Fleur could not think of what to say, the old fox clapped his hands, startling her. "Well, anyway! Let's go ahead and proceed, yes?"

He stretched out an arm, his stick popping out from within the thick tuft that draped his forearm. Unsheathing it with his other hand, he positioned the end of the wand around the vaporeon's head, doing odd motions and circling it around the scalp several times. The delphox started to hum very softly and then a familiar, purple aura emanated on the vaporeon's cranium, growing more dense with each passing second. An orb-like wisp separated from the aura, rising with a slow, upwards movement of Sagefox's free hand. His hand gestured in a way that made it look like he was carrying something invisible. He waved the free hand towards his body, the wisp gradually making its way in the direction of the old fox's muzzle. Opening his mouth, the delphox then tenderly ingested the wisp, swallowing deeply with his eyes closed. He was in a deep concentrative state now, taking in the memories that became one with him. Fleur watched in anticipation as the delphox started to hum softly.

Suddenly, Sagefox gasped, his eyes popping open to momentarily reveal a strange haze over his irises that faded away in a second. His jaw agape and his breathing rapid, he stepped back a couple paces, appearing genuinely frightened. Fleur was frozen on the spot for a moment, not expected the delphox's reaction. She then went to him with a quick hop and grasped his arm tightly, shaking it.

"Sage? Sage!" she cried out. It took Sagefox a few seconds to recollect himself and regain his composure. "Easy, easy," the lopunny mother said to him softly as he started to calm down, his breaths slowing. She gazed up at his face to see an expression of utter sadness.

"Poor, poor creature," he said, his tone saturated in melancholy.

"The vaporeon?" Fleur asked, to which he shook his head gently.

"Violet." The name he uttered rang in Fleur's head like a bell. Violet was the name of a dratini that had been under their care for quite some time. She had gone missing last season, around the time the vaporeon first entered the Sanctuary grounds with bad intentions. Fleur connected the dots just as Sage wielded his stick once more, twirling it around the vaporeon's head. A flash of purple filled the small room and the water type woke up with a start, scrambling onto his feet. Seeing Sagefox and Fleur, the vaporeon backed up until he hit the wall, rife with intense fear. He knew what he had done.

"Please...Please, I don't know what came over me. I don't know why I supported her!" the vaporeon pleaded, his lips quivering. Fleur noticed Sage's growing anger, hidden behind the deep furrows of his brow. She wanted to step in but knew better than to interfere when Sage was like this.

"You know full well why you did," Sage said with a low snarl. He took his wand and pointed it directly at the vaporeon's throat, the creature moaning in hopelessness as he pressed himself harder against the wall, belly showing. "Though I feel you would have to be pretty desperate to make an alliance with the Witch."

"Please, I—I just wanted to be loved. She promised me that I would be loved by a trainer."

"How foolish," Sagefox uttered with contempt, a psychic aura forming around the tip of his stick. "What human would be knowledgeable on the affairs we take part in?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" the vaporeon repeated, tears streaming down his face as his large eyes focused on the intensifying psychic energy pressing against his flesh. "Please…"

"Sage?" Fleur blurted out, letting her emotions take over. She needed to step in; despite what the vaporeon did, she could not stand seeing someone so helpless and frightened. There was a moment where everything seemed to have stopped entirely, with the vaporeon being stone-still and Sage with his eyes locked onto the water type with a look of pure hatred.

The delphox lowered his wand, the aura disappearing almost instantly. The lack of sound afterwards caused great discomfort in the lopunny mother, and she released her breath as if having held it in for a minute. At the same time, the vaporeon crumpled in a heap, sobbing pathetically.

"I'm sorry I did what I did. I'm sorry I killed that dratini! I'm sorry for everything! Please don't throw me out!" the water type said speedily, his words slightly unintelligible with the mix of his sobbing in between them. Sagefox closed his eyes and was in deep thought for a while, Fleur trying to keep herself nearly still while observing the harrowing scene. Finally, he opened his eyes and his face transformed to show a warm smile that took her off guard.

"I forgive you," the delphox stated cordially, easing all tension in the room. The vaporeon gazed at the old fox in wonder, his eyes glistening as more tears started to stream out. He proceeded to bawl uncontrollably, burying his face in between his forelegs. Sagefox walked over and put a hand on the vaporeon's back, comforting him. Fleur had a smile on her face, her own eyes welling up with tears at the heartwarming scene before her.

* * *

The vaporeon was escorted out, but not before Sagefox made it clear he wanted him to do something for taking the life of Violet. The delphox wished for the vaporeon to create a memorial for the passed dratini, though he gave no specifics. The water type admitted he lacked any creative spark, but assured the old fox that he would attempt to think of something. Fleur was elated at how well this all turned out, but could not help still feeling morose at the fate of the Violet. The dratini was so full of energy and potential, but she knew that Sage had more exposure to the creature than she did—she could not imagine how he felt, which made his forgiving the vaporeon all the more respectable.

"Did he know all this time?" Fleur asked Sagefox as they lounged outside the temple, taking in the brisk night air. The delphox shook his head.

"When I hit him with that sleep spell the first time we met him, it jumbled his memories."

"He wanted to do Witch's bidding. That seems very malicious to me. How could he have changed so quickly?"

"There is goodness in all of us," Sage said with a deep breath, looking out into the starry expanse above them. "That I believe." Fleur was not sure how to respond to that, but felt warm with comfort being close to the amicable delphox.

"Do you think the same for the Witch?" Fleur asked reluctantly. Sagefox chuckled and adjusted his spectacles.

"It's buried deeply in there for sure, but if I was able to change, I still believe there is hope for Ingrid as well." Fleur admired the old fox's positivity and hopefulness. The Witch, to her, seemed beyond saving, but if Sagefox remained confident, she would too.

Suddenly, a loud, deafening CRUNCH echoed throughout the forestlands. The sound was intense and long, as if a huge chunk of the earth was peeled slowly from the surface. Sagefox and Fleur became alert, waiting for another sound before finally rushing towards the source of the noise.

* * *

Puru the azumarill was being chased, and not just by any creature, but the warrior samurott herself. He knew that, by now, the authority of his former homeplace was quite upset with him. The azumarill lied low in a series of shrubs, breathing heavily after the grueling chase where he was able to lose the samurott, though he knew it would only be momentary. The hulking pokémon had a way of locating him that he could not fully understand. It was ultimately no use hiding from her, but Puru could only run from his hunter for so long.

Right on cue, Puru started to hear heavy footsteps in the distance, the earth beneath his rump trembling so slightly with every step. She would find him again, but the chase would last for as long as the water-fairy type had energy to spare. He was not going to give up, and he certainly was not going back to the water kingdom without a fight. He understood that, by now, he would be undergoing severe consequences if he were to return. Puru did not ever plan on going back, greatly dissatisfied with how he was treated and how slim his chances were appearing of becoming a member of the higher ranks. He was teased for almost all of his life, and this time he was going to do something about it—he was going to prove to everyone that he had what it took to be a Higher Guard.

Puru silently escaped from his place of temporary refuge, trying to locate another area to lay low and regain his energy. As he did so, he thought of the one and only reason he would want to return to the kingdom he once called home: Umiko. Umiko was a gorgeous buizel with an intoxicatingly sweet soul. She was the kindest pokémon he had ever met and even he would admit that he held feelings for her. The greatest part of it all was that Puru knew that Umiko held mutual feelings for him too. Unfortunately, while they were within their school years, they were eventually forced into their separate ways, with Umiko surprisingly becoming personal handmaiden of the queen herself; aptly named Queen, the royal primarina was an eccentric creature who struck fear into the hearts of all under her, including the warrior samurott after Puru's hide. She was a very mysterious one, but Puru held personal contempt for Queen, as she was the one who would have promoted him to Higher Guard, yet never saw the potential in the azumarill.

Puru was able to find a broken down structure in the distance and set his aim towards it. He could still hear the slow, heavy footsteps and had to make haste. As he got closer he realized that this may not be a great idea—the structure stands out well amongst the seemingly endless vegetation of the forest, and it would surely attract the samurott's attention. Puru approached the structure, marvelling at its complex construction for several seconds before setting his sight towards a depression in the earth off to the side of it, decorated with more shrubs. Puru went over to the dip and jumped into the middle, concealing himself within the thick bushes.

He gazed out of a gap within the shrubs and was able to see a shadowy figure in the distance, peeking over the corner of the decrepit building. Moving out further, moonlight eventually hit the figure to reveal that it was indeed the warrior samurott, the very sight of her powerful, muscular body sending chills down Puru's spine. Her limbs were lined with tough sheaths, which all held golden blades that almost blended in with them to give an appearance of armor with a rather unorthodox design. Her stance was that of a gallant, fearless fighter, her limbs locked, chest out, and head high.

The samurott started putting her pointed snout close to the earth, sniffing out any traces of the azumarill. She eventually came upon the building itself, gazing at it bemused. Puru held his breath, hoping desperately that she would enter as he predicted she would. After a pulse-pounding minute, the samurott warrior ambled into the structure curiously. Puru almost cried out in relief. The azumarill would be able to make even more headway now and possibly lose her again. He did not count on it, but maybe somebody would be around to help him deal with this persistent soldier.

Shuffling backwards with his belly brushing against the grass, Puru tried to leave the network of shrubs surrounding him when his rump bumped into something soft. The azumarill felt his heart skip a beat, a cold sweat starting to form on his brow. With his egg-shaped body, the water-fairy type had to swivel his entire body to see what he had disturbed. Unfortunately, it was not inanimate—a large, pot-bellied grovyle was stirring directly in front of him. Puru waited for the lizard to awaken from his slumber, but to his relief, the grovyle appeared to remain in deep sleep. The azumarill bit his lip as he braced himself. With a mighty leap, Puru escaped his hiding place with ease, landing gracefully. Immediately he looked back at the structure on the off-chance that the warrior samurott had given up her search early. What the azumarill saw instead put him on the edge of a fit of laughter. The samurott's rump was sticking out of the entrance as she twisted and kicked violently. She got herself stuck in the opening.

Puru could not longer contain himself and burst out laughing, rolling on the ground as he tried to hold on to his own body, as if keeping it from floating away. The samurott stopped moving, a low, guttural growl echoing from the structure. Suddenly, the walls around her collapsed and crumbled in a flurry of smoke. A golden blade appeared from the thick smog, which then swung back inwards to sink into the opposite wall, the old blocks succumbing to the sheer force the samurott expelled. The silence of the night was broken, the sounds of destruction defeaning to Puru's ears. The azumarill's laughing fit ended almost instantly when the unstuck samurott turned to face him with a glare of hatred.

Scrambling onto his feet, Puru started to run in the opposite direction back into the forest, spraying out a jet of water from behind him for instant momentum. As he continued to dash in desperation, he heard the samurott chasing after him, her feet pounding heavily against the earth. Trees fell before her as she barrelled through the forest. Her awe-inspiring power as well as her rage was aiding her in getting closer to the azumarill. Puru knew that he had to think of something, else the warrior was going to catch up to him for sure. He sprayed another aqua jet to his right side, attempting to throw off the samurott, but it was no use. With a rush of speed, the samurott let out a tumultuous tackle attack, catching Puru directly on his side. The azumarill spiralled in midair, unable to control his trajectory. He crashed into a tree, which knocked him in another direction. Landing with an audible SPLAT, Puru crumpled into a heap, his body aching horribly. He struggled to rise again, but the pain was too much. Groaning and writhing on the ground, Puru tried to crawl, not ready to give up despite the hulking figure of the samurott approaching him. She loomed over the pathetic azumarill, reaching her head over to one of her forearms' swords. Clenching the hilt with her strong jaws, she pulled it out with a resounding SHING, which filled Puru with dread.

Finally out of energy, the azumarill submitted, turning onto his back to face the female samurott.

"You're mine now, runt," she said with a booming voice. Puru grit his teeth, expecting the worst. He thought that he was just supposed to be taken back to the kingdom, but it seemed they wanted him dead. Closing his eyes, he knew there was nothing he could do to escape his fate now. Suddenly, he heard something snap. It was loud and startling, causing the azumarill to open his eyes once again to see the samurott had a thick vine slung around her muscley neck. It was tightening, pulling the warrior back. The strength of it was shocking, as not even she could keep her ground against it. More vines started to writhe and slither from the ground around her and then eventually wrapped around her as well, constricting her limbs and lifting her into the air so that her belly was showing. The vines started to glow a bright green intensely and even Puru could feel some sort of powerful aura from them. The samurott bellowed in pain as the radiant bloom surrounded her frame. The glow split into smaller spheres of energy, which homed into something standing behind her ensnared body. The samurott's body grew limp and she stopped moving. Puru's jaw was agape in astonishment at how easily she was knocked out.

The vines gently lowered the warrior onto the earth, releasing her body and slithering back out of view. Once she was released, Puru could finally see the attacker up ahead, surrounded in the green glow. It was the grovyle he bumped into before! The glow began to wane, merging with the grovyle's body. The grass type made a long, satisfied sigh and eyed the azumarill with piercing yellow eyes, looking as if Puru was meant to be his next victim. Puru suddenly felt a surge of energy—despite the pain not having left, he had only one thing on his mind: to escape from this dangerous, voracious creature. He got onto his feet and ran a few paces before a vine whipped out from behind a tree, wrapping around his egg-shaped body effortlessly. He could not move an inch and watched as the lizard pokémon advanced on him with a casual walk.

Before the grovyle could do anything more, two figures were dashing into the scene from the right. Puru observed them and saw that they were a delphox and a lopunny. He gazed back at the grovyle, who also noticed them, and then started to weep fake tears.

"Oh, sweet lugia of the sea, please don't hurt me!" the azumarill cried out in anguish. The grovyle still appeared blank, almost like he himself was confused about the situation. The delphox leaned against a nearby tree, clearly exhausted. The lopunny halted to care for him.

"Sage, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm doing splendid. Would someone mind explaining what is happening here?" the old fox said with a tone of frustration. The two were then surprised to see the downed samurott off to the side. "Sol? Did you do this?" The grovyle grunted in response, turning to look at Puru once again, this time with an off-putting grin. Fleur walked over to the samurott, who was still out cold. She squatted down to inspect her.

"She's not one of us, right?" the lopunny questioned.

"Certainly not. Those are distinct creatures, I would definitely remember if one of them were among us."

"She looks so strong," Fleur breathed out in wonder. "Where do you think she's from? I have never seen a wild pokémon with a figure like this." The lopunny put a hand on the samurott's arm, squeezing the muscle gently.

"You probably don't want to do that, miss," Puru called out. The delphox and lopunny glued their eyes onto the water-fairy type so that all three of the pokémon were now gazing at him. Puru shut his mouth tightly, not saying another word.

* * *

The trio took the azumarill to Sage's temple where he was to be treated for his wounds. He was seated on the same stone table that the vaporeon was previously on. Fleur offered Sagefox a cache of healing berries, which Sage squeezed over his wounds, dressing them with the sweet-smelling fluids. The azumarill winced in pain as they coated his bruised body, but soon enough expressed relief, showing the pain had successfully been subsided.

Quietly and with a snarky tone, he muttered, "Thanks." He huffed in exasperation.

"At least he is well-mannered," Fleur pointed out, setting aside the box of berries.

"Now that that is taken care of," Sagefox started, crossing his arms with a stern look on his wrinkled face. "Who are you and where have you come from?" The water-fairy type lifted his lip in irritation, crossing his own smaller arms and turning so that he was facing the wall instead of Sagefox. The delphox continued, sounding cross, "You've disturbed our haven, and at a rather inconvenient time. The least you could do is answer me."

The azumarill glared at him for a moment before saying, "It's not my fault she was so persistent."

"Who are you talking about?"

"You know who. That samurott."

"Why was she chasing you?" he inquired. The azumarill made a long sigh of annoyance.

"Because she's a total jerk."

Sagefox scratched his fuzzy chin for a few seconds before bringing up the question. "You're from the water kingdom, aren't you?" The water type eyed him in surprise for a second and then looked away again. "Aha! Knew it," the delphox said triumphantly, looking towards Fleur and Sol almost as if seeking their approval. The azumarill whirled at him.

"What the heck do you know about the water kingdom? I've never heard of you before."

"I've met one of yours a few times. They enjoy traveling quite a bit."

"Traveling?" the azumarill looked at the floor in thoughtfulness. "The only one I know who does that is Caspian."

"The lugia, yes." The water type huffed and again stared at Sagefox with a piqued expression.

"What makes you special anyway?"

"Would you watch your way of speaking, please?" Fleur chipped in suddenly, now irritated with the azumarill.

"It's alright, my dear. Patience," the old fox assured the lopunny. "So what are you doing here and why are you being chased?" Sage repeated. With the azumarill knowing Sage's acquaintance with the lugia of the water kingdom, he was bound to be more open with them now.

He sighed before revealing, "I ran away. That's it. I was one of the Queen's guard, but I didn't like how they were treating me. So I ran."

"I see, and now they are after you?"

"Yea, if you couldn't tell from the huge brute," the azumarill said sarcastically. The delphox sighed, looking worried now.

"You know, we may not be able to keep you here. This is very much a dangerous affair."

"I never asked to stay here! I'll be on my way then," the azumarill stated, jumping off the stone table and walking straight for the room's opening. Before he could exit, Sol came in from the side, easily blocking the water type's way with his large body. Sagefox and Fleur stared at the scene in awe.

"Sol?" Sagefox uttered.

The grovyle cleared his throat and said to the azumarill, "Perhaps you do want to stay."

The water rabbit gazed at Sol with a look of absolute bewilderment and replied angrily, "Get outta my way, you dumb lizard! I'm not staying here."

"You're upset right now, I understand, but if you have no one to protect you, the warriors of the water kingdom will catch you eventually, and who knows what will happen when they do?" There was silence in the room for a while, the azumarill looking at all three of the pokémon frantically. Sol continued, "I saw what almost became of you back there." He then looked up at Sagefox. "Perhaps we can simply talk to a pokémon who represents the kingdom about this."

Sagefox saw something within Sol's eyes. The familiar spark he once saw within the grass type had inspired him to take him under his wing, and now it was finally reviving. The delphox saw this as a golden opportunity, that maybe Sol could exercise some responsibility and have a motive. He knew that the grovyle wished to look after the water type—for what reason, he did not know, but at this point in their relationship, he wanted nothing more than for Sol to feel he had purpose. A large grin grew on the old fox's face and he nodded, Sol nodding slightly back. There was a mutual understanding between them that words could not do justice for.

"You do want to stay, don't you?" Sagefox asked the azumarill warmly. The water type whirled at him with a grouchy countenance.

"I never said that! Let me go already!"

* * *

Outside of Sage's temple, Sol had the azumarill bound inside of a spherical cocoon of leaves and vines. Hanging off of a tree, the cocoon swung like a pendulum with the azumarill's futile attempts to escape. Sol stood just beside him, gazing at him with his arms crossed. Cursing and yelling in rebellion, the azumarill's energy seemed boundless.

"This is for the best, you know that right?" Sol asked the feisty water rabbit.

As he continued to fight against the sturdy cocoon, the azumarill said, "You guys are really stupid." Sol huffed and shook his head.

"You'll be safe here," the grovyle assured him. The water-fairy type then laughed with cynicism.

"There are more powerful creatures after me. What makes you think you can take them all on, let alone try to be all diplomatic with them? They want my head! They won't listen to some dumb old fox!"

"Well, we'll see how that goes. For now, I think you're best suited in there. We don't want you destroying anything else sacred."

* * *

The next morning, Sagefox aimed to speak with a representative of the water kingdom: the very lugia that he had talked about briefly with the azumarill. The lugia was not the only one who he interacted with from that kingdom. The Queen herself was able to communicate with him through the use of a psychic bridge Sagefox was able to conjure. The royal primarina also had the ability to send "message bubbles," which contained a string of vocals that would play when the said bubble was popped.

Together with Fleur, Sol, and, of course, the azumarill still being contained within Sol's cocoon, the party of pokémon started to travel towards a large lake which trickled off into a vast sea with a multitude of branching rivers. Fleur had never been to a body of water this large, and Sagefox thought it would be a great experience for her. He also brought her along so that she would know how to make contact with those of the sea in case she needed this ability for the future.

Arriving at a cliff face overlooking the lake, the pokémon stopped to marvel at the splendorous view. The lake itself was a grand sight, but it was lined with several mountains that circled it from the sides, opening in the center to reveal a crack leading to a larger stretch of water. This looked like a great place for a casual gathering or simply a place of respite, but strangely enough it did not seem like there were any pokémon around. The lake itself was eerily still and noise was minimal.

"I sometimes visit this place just to meditate," Sagefox said, gazing out dreamily into the expanse. "That is, if my dwelling doesn't suit me well enough, or if I'm in the mood for a little walk." The delphox proceeded to sit down, his brushy, hanging coat sweeping the grass around him. He closed his eyes, the other pokémon accompanying him watching with interest. Even the azumarill was placated, curious about what exactly was going on. The old fox tensed, his mind creating a psychic energy invisible to the others. The energy would serve as the bridge needed to communicate with those of the sea. Propelling the energy forward, the delphox, in his mind's eye, broke into the surface of the body of water, carrying the message to the only one who would be able to pick it up. He hoped that she was at least available to receive it in the first place.

The delphox then relaxed his mind, the work completed. He let out a long sigh and opened his eyes again, welcoming the unrefined luster of nature in front of him.

"What the heck are we doing?" the azumarill piped up. Sol nudged the cocoon, wordlessly commanding that he remain silent. Sagefox waved a claw, gesturing that it was alright.

"I've sent the message. We should be greeted soon. Why not sit back and relax? Enjoy the sight while you can," the delphox suggested. With that, the rest of the pokémon did sit and take in the air, a period of relaxation appreciated after their long trek.

In time, the silence of the lake was broken, a far-off noise of moving water growing louder. The lake's surface began to tremble and ripple, a shaded figure approaching closer from the gap between the mountains. The figure grew more apparent in shape and color as it rose to the surface. In a white, brilliant explosion of water, a lugia elegantly shot up into the air, a faint rainbow visible where he hovered. The glistening drops of water fell lightly, a wall of mist bursting forth and hitting all four observing pokémon. The lugia was a gallant sight, a white silk cloth with fancy, golden flower decor lining the collar. The psychic-flying type's sheen was marvelous, his skin reflecting the sun brilliantly. His torso was large and powerful, his wings flapping slowly and steadily. For sure he was a fearsome sight as well, all the pokémon except for Sagefox tensing up. The delphox simply stood at the cliff's edge, bowing his upper body in respect. The lugia also bowed, his long neck craning forward.

"Caspian, it's good that you were close," the old fox said, raising his voice slightly. The lugia continued to hover, a breeze picking up with the movement of his wings. His face showed that off a serious countenance.

"You know who we are after," the lugia said, his words booming and echoing across the lakeside. It was enough to instill fear in any pokémon; some might have even considered him a deity from that alone.

"Yes," Sagefox confirmed, turning to eye the azumarill still wrapped in the cocoon. "He is right here."

"I can see that, delphox," the lugia stated with a slightly snappy tone, Sage locking eyes with the elegant beast once again. "I have been ordered to bring the azumarill Puru back to the water kingdom so that he may be brought to justice. He has seceded from our colony and has thusly been marked as a traitor." Fleur and Sol winced—they could only imagine what someone of that position would have to go through as punishment. "He must be returned to us at once."

Sagefox shrugged and then turned again. He walked towards Puru, looming over the fearful azumarill. Slowly he squatted down and gazed at the water type warmly.

"Well, this is it, Puru," he said with a sigh. "Do you want to be back with them, or do you want to stay with us?"

"Are you really giving me that choice?" Puru asked in a hushed manner, feeling that they were trying not to let the lugia listen in. "Because I don't think you or I have a choice."

"What makes you say that?"

"Caspian's going to kill you," Puru stated in a hiss-like whisper. The delphox frowned and shook his head.

"I understand." With that, Sagefox stood up tall once again, pausing a moment and eying Sol, who was bewildered. He turned back to face an impatient Caspian. With a smile he said, "We'll keep him for you." After a brief moment, a long, drawn-out, guttural growling sounded from the lugia. Any wild pokémon would have mistaken it for a tremor.

"What are you saying?" Caspian asked, aghast at the delphox's unexpected reply.

"He would be better suited under our care. You won't have to worry about him any longer."

"We are not asking for your pity!" the lugia snarled, the sheer force of his voice causing Fleur to fall onto her rump. Sol walked over to help the frightened rabbit back up. "We have a mission, and we will carry it out. Hand me the azumarill this instant!"

"Sagefox!" Fleur cried out. The delphox simply whipped out his arm, his wand poking half-way out from the scruff.

"I have made my decision. Perhaps you should turn away peacefully and allow your queen to make hers."

"We will not abandon our objective!" the lugia boomed, flapping his wings towards them and creating a small gust. Sage knew he intended to strike fear into their hearts and force him to change his decision, but the old fox sought to keep his word. "There are no more decisions to be made."

"Err, old guy! You probably don't want to risk your lives just for me!" Puru called out. Sol leapt over to him and pressed close to the cocoon, keeping it steady. It appeared a fight was inevitable. The lugia opened his gaping maw, a sphere of light starting to form within it. Before he could continue charging his attack, a whistle in the wind halted Caspian, the lugia shutting his jaws in surprise. The whistle eventually transformed into a beautiful, soothing melody that filled the air despite how quiet it was. The song was so smooth and flowing that it was like it was being carried by the breeze itself. Caspian closed his eyes, hovering in place. His body released all tension and he seemed to be relaxed. The song was comforting enough that the rest of the pokémon were also soothed. It was like the world stood perfectly still just for the melody to continue.

Eventually the harmony passed, and all was silent once again except for the slow flapping of the lugia's mighty wings. Caspian opened his eyes and gazed at the delphox for a few seconds before letting out a soft huff of censure. He turned tail and dove back into the lake with another giant splash. The fresh scent of the lake filled the air as a glistening mist shrouded the scene. When all was still again, Sagefox turned to the three pokémon and grinned happily, retracting his stick back into his furry sleeve.

"The queen is willing to think this through."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Night of the Lycanroc

Bernard felt like he was floating. His eyelids creaked open to be welcomed by a thick purple mist. The lycanroc looked all around his body to find that he was completely engulfed by this fog. This mist appeared to be carrying him, as he felt the momentum. His body was unresponsive to anything his brain was relaying. He was completely helpless in this dark expanse.

Eventually, the mist gave way and began to dissipate, revealing nothing but pure blackness. Bernard started to float downwards until his feet touched a floor he could not pinpoint in the empty void he was in. Despite not being able to get his body to move, Bernard was able to at least feel his limbs and keep himself standing upright. A mysterious light source shone down on him, bright enough to cast deep, dark shadows on his frame. He started to feel intense fear well up inside him as a deep voice called out from above, "It is your fault." These words echoed in the void and bounced around in Bernard's head. He started to tremble, feeling somewhat cold.

The light source then started to illuminate a figure that was several paces in front of Bernard the whole time. As the light intensified, continuing to wash over the figure completely, Bernard felt his heart beating fast after realizing what it was. It was a midnight lycanroc, hunched down in an almost fetal position. Once the light covered its entire body, it stood on its legs, the creature having an anthropomorphic form unlike his midday counterpart. He opened his eyes, staring at Bernard hungrily as sharp teeth were unveiled with a malicious smile.

The midnight lycanroc ambled to Bernard, his stride filled with confidence. Bernard, heavily uneasy, could do nothing, as his body still would not respond to his urge to turn tail and run. The midnight lycanroc, being one step away from Bernard, squatted down, putting him nose to nose with the midday. Bernard could do nothing but stare into those hypnotic, red eyes, falling into a trance.

A harsh, deep voice uttered from the midnight, "It's my turn again." His jaws then opened to reveal a row of sharp, threatening teeth and a black void beyond his dripping maw. The dark mouth closed in over Bernard's head until he could see nothing.

* * *

And then the lycanroc woke up, his heart beating so hard he felt it might leap out of his throat. He was in his room with the quilava, Plume, the two having grown quite attached to each other over time. His dream having been vivid, the lycanroc for a moment could not even tell where he was. Plume was still sleeping soundly, and the lycanroc did his best not to disturb her. Panting, he got up onto his feet and walked towards the single door in the room, which slid open. Despite being near soundless, the door startled the dog pokémon. He was completely on edge.

It was not just that—Bernard was beginning to feel the sensation again. This was the whole reason he even bothered signing up to be in this silly army. He thought that the shelter would be a good enough cover for the moon's waves. The fact that he was feeling the sensation caused him great dismay, as he knew he could not be here anymore. Perhaps if he found someplace safer...someplace _deeper_ , he would be able to avoid this from happening.

Bernard situated himself with his current position, walking out into a corridor that took the shape of a T. He remembered Lord Malgam's room being just around the corner and four doors down. He travelled down the halls, every step he took accompanied with a tapping noise from his claws. The sound reverberated uncomfortably, certainly not helping with the already jittery dog, who was peeking over his shoulder constantly. It was very quiet, so it must have been the middle of the night still.

Approaching the eevee lord's room, Bernard activated the sensor that caused the doors to slide open, revealing Malgam sleeping on his cardboard box throne. The lycanroc wondered how the eevee could sleep so casually despite all the pokémon roaming around in his facility. He figured at this point he would have gotten used to it, but at any moment in time, a disgruntled recruit could possibly waltz in and end him with little effort.

Bernard strutted towards the eevee, the sensation inside him growing stronger. His legs started to lightly quake, as if something were writhing in his veins, struggling to break free. He continued his approach, aiming to ask the eevee of any sort of compartment that could provide even further shelter. The canine pokémon could not understand how he could be affected even inside a building such as this. Did he manage to get hit by moonlight from a crack in the ceiling? If he were to undergo this sensation even here, then that would turn his whole theory upside-down; it was not just the moonlight anymore.

A few paces away from the eevee lord, Bernard stopped himself and observed hypnotically Malgam's pudgy stomach rising and falling as he slumbered, his mouth wide open and drool creeping from the side of his mouth. The lycanroc slowly creaked open his jaw, trying to muster the courage to say something. For some reason, nothing was coming out. He felt horrible having to wake him up and also guessed there may be consequences for doing so. Suddenly, Bernard sensed his entire body tingling, his fur standing on end. He was whisked into the air, an aura surrounding him as he floated helplessly, clawing at the air. He watched as Lord Malgam rose up, his eyes baggy and the aura lining him as well. As the eevee scratched his side, he gazed over at the floating rock pokémon indifferently. His countenance transformed into that of outrage, the eevee rising onto his feet.

Snarling, the little lord exclaimed, "I knew this day would come! You've plotted to assassinate me, haven't you? Well, surprise! I was ready, you no-good—,"

"Lord Malgam, please listen to me!" Bernard interrupted him, sounding utterly desperate. It was enough to shut the eevee's mouth. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I need to know if you have a place... perhaps deeper in this building that I could stay in? Underground maybe?" There was a long pause where Lord Malgam simply stared at him, his lip raising and the bridge of his nose furrowing in disgust. Suddenly, Bernard rocketed back, the force releasing him as he slid across the floor.

"That's boring. Get out of my sight, you dumb mutt," he grumbled in agitation, adding in, "Can't believe you woke me up for that." With that, Bernard whimpered as he watched the eevee lord reclining once again, falling asleep almost as fast as he was woken up. His tail tucked, the rock pokémon left with his head hanging. What was he to do now? The sensation still festered within him and he knew if he could not find a place himself, there would be nothing but chaos to follow. Perhaps it was for the best so that the pompous eevee could learn.

* * *

Plume woke up from her sleep, a disturbing feeling crawling underneath her fur. The depressions on her back puffed small flames as her heart beat at a quickened pace. She remembered falling asleep next to Bernard, whom she had a growing liking for. Despite all the ridicule everybody committed to her, the rock pokémon would always comfort her. It was not often she ever received such treatment in her life.

Seeing that Bernard was nowhere in sight, however, caused her to feel a chill of foreboding. She would not be able to return to sleep until she could sate her curiosity. Leaving her room, the quilava inspected the corridor around her, trying to keep a sharp eye out for anything odd. It was very quiet, so quiet that Plume almost considered returning to her room, feeling as if she did not belong out there and that something would pounce without a moment's notice. She knew she did not have that option—she had to locate Bernard no matter what.

Suddenly, her little ears perked up as a crashing noise sounded from her right. Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as she stood there, small flames growing and lingering on her back. Bernard's name reverberated in her head just as the loud noise did, and the quilava felt the powerful urge to press forward. Plume rushed over to the source of the noise, stopping in her tracks as she heard more various small sounds of random items being tossed about. Pinpointing the commotion to the door just ahead of her, she walked over cautiously. The doors slid open and Plume could only see a metal can rolling across the floor. Peeking around the doorway corner, the quilava had to put forth the effort to stop herself from squealing. A red-furred creature with a puffy, white fur line traveling from his rear up to the top of his head was ransacking the shelves in the chamber, shoving away trash and feasting on whatever morsels he could find.

The creature turned around to see the fearful quilava. Plume gazed at the full frontal of the creature. He had a very canine figure, just like Bernard, but his eyes were a hypnotic red with a strange circular pattern painted on them, giving them a deranged look. The creature stood on his hind legs and his arms hung low, extending into a set of large, threatening claws. The canine was drooling, staring at Plume with a look of severe longing, baring sharp, shining teeth. Plume's body did not respond to her signals to run, and she simply stood stone still as the canine ambled towards her, his back hunched. Just as one of her little legs twitched, the bipedal pokémon lunged with breakneck speed, his drooling jaws opened wide.

* * *

The lombre who had previously gone on the recruiting expedition to the Sanctuary watched in horror at the disturbing sight before him. The pokémon had only come in a minute after the quilava's unfortunate encounter with the canid, having heard the incessant noises as well. He watched, terrified, as the body of Plume hung limp from the jaws of the beast , her lower body poking out from between his teeth. With an upward flick of his head, the rest of Plume disappeared into the canid's mouth, slowly bulging down his throat. Once she was fully swallowed, the creature's glowing, red eyes turned to see the frightened lombre, who scurried off immediately to report the sighting to his master.

As he frantically made a dash down the corridor, the beast followed close behind, barrelling into the corridor and growling with predatory intent.

The lombre screamed at the top of his lungs, as he knew his end was near, "Lord Malgam! Somebody! Anybody! Help!"

* * *

Malgam woke, startled by a sudden cacophony of screams in the corridor outside of his realm. He flipped off of his throne with a shout, unable to react fast enough to hover before belly flopping on the floor. Groaning in pain, the eevee huffed as he got up onto his feet. He grit his teeth, seething with a growing rage. Lifting his head up high, the eevee lord bellowed, "What did I tell you idiots about causing a racket during my slumber!?" Not receiving any response whatsoever, Malgam huffed again, stomping his little feet on the ground as he made his way towards the door.

As it slid open, he was instantly greeted by a group of three pokémon making a mad dash down the hallway. Peeking down the opposite direction they were running towards, Malgam spotted Malice walking casually down the hallway. He felt a little disturbed by this, considering the mewtwo was almost always lounging in her usual spot in front of the impregnable vault bulkhead. After this subsided, the eevee lord was suddenly upset, spouting at Malice, "Why are you prowling about and messing with others this late at night!?"

Malice scowled at him and replied, "Shut your mouth, you little furball." She crossed her arms. "I'm not the one who is causing this alarm."

Malgam slapped a paw on his face, shaking his head. "Oh, boy. You're not even aware of how scary you are." Malice then snarled at him.

"Are you going to stop this commotion or do I have to devour one of your brainless cronies?"

"Whoa, that isn't very nice," Malgam said with a wince, hovering now. "But sure, might as well. Whoever is doing this is going to regret ruining my much-required beauty sleep!"

The two proceeded to scour the corridors until they eventually came across another group of pokémon who appeared flustered. One of them was the lilligant who was attempting to perfect her pokepuff crafting skills. The others were ones Malgam almost completely forgot about: a hitmonlee and a carnivine. The little lord stopped them in their tracks with Malice still ambling behind him, giving anyone who crossed her path the stink-eye.

"What is going on and who is causing all this ruckus?" Malgam questioned the trio of henchmen. The carnivine piped up, his fly-trap head flapping with every syllable he uttered.

" S-Some sort of furry beast! It's attacking everyone! We have no idea where it came from or how it got in!"

"Well, I'd say from how well-fortified our fortress is," Malgam started sarcastically, "it's almost unbelievable to think something like this could happen." The eevee scratched his chin, pondering. "So where have you seen this beast last?"

"I don't know, I only caught a glimpse of it, but it keeps moving around!" the carnivine told him, shivering. Right on cue, an echoing scream was heard down the hallway, causing the trio of pokémon to quake with stark fear, muttering words of negativity. Malgam slowly gazed over at Malice, who appeared indifferent, unsurprisingly. The eevee lord grinned, trying to mask his slight nervousness.

"Shall we, my right hand?" he said while gesturing his stubby forelegs towards the direction of the noise, following with a small bow. "Ladies first." Malice shoved him roughly, growling. Malgam bounced erratically in mid-air, like a puppet that was being jerked around. The eevee huffed in annoyance since this had to occur in front of the three lower pokémon; now his image was demeaned a little, though he should have known better than to irritate the psychic cat.

The duo made their way down the corridor, hearing yet another scream, though this time they could pick up the sound of other terrified voices begging for help. Detecting the source of the voices, Malgam set his eyes on a sliding door that refused to open. The eevee noticed a small, rectangular screen on the side of the door that displayed a green silhouette of a human hand. Malgam pressed his paw against the screen and the device refused to acknowledge it. He looked over at Malice, who was staring him down in a testy fashion. The eevee lord chuckled, then scowled with discontent.

"We'll have to reprogram these sometime," he muttered, floating back to evolve with a burst of light. The light subsided to reveal the lord now in his flareon form, his thick fur coat bristling with embers. Taking a deep breath, he let out a stream of fire at the metallic doors, causing them to glow red-hot. Malgam crossed his arms and lifted his chin with pride. Malice scoffed as she stretched out an arm towards the doors, bending the metal with ease and then tearing the doors right out of their slots.

Malgam and Malice entered the room to see a rather harrowing scene. The beast that the carnivine mentioned would have to be this one—a canine creature stood with its back turned to the duo as it loomed menacingly over another small group of pokémon who were cowering against the wall.

Malgam, unable to contain himself, blurted out, "Hey! You call yourselves members of my army?" The beast turned around, glaring at him with a glowing red eye. "You all look pathetic huddled together like that! How could you embarrass me like this!?" Malgam again flashed, the creature yelping in surprise and covering his eyes with his large paws. The evil lord was now a vaporeon, his body shimmering as his pristine skin reflected the fluorescent lights. The vaporeon lord pointed at the canine creature with a dramatic pose, causing Malice to sigh in embarrassment. "You're the one who has been attacking my servants, yes? Well, that is about to come to a swift end! You are going to pay for your insolence, beast!" The canine bared his sharp fangs angrily, drool dripping from his chin as he positioned himself to pounce. Malgam took another deep breath, cheeks swelling and chest expanding. He lurched his head forward and from his open mouth came a torrent of water, the large jet crashing into the beast and sending him directly into the wall. The pokémon against the wall leapt to the side, barely dodging the aqua stream. The force of the hydro pump was strong enough to cause the creature to break through the wall entirely, plaster and stone bits flying everywhere as a good chunk of it was reduced to rubble.

Once Malgam finished his attack, he wiped his lips, grinning triumphantly with his chest outwards. He looked in admiration at the hole he created, but then frowned in realization—the hole led directly outside into the night. Malgam hovered through the hole and looked around, but could find no trace of the canine creature. His paws on his hips, the vaporeon devolved back into an eevee and sighed deeply.

"The bastard got away," he groaned. It was immensely satisfying blasting the beast away, but once again the eevee was frustrated, his army now in disarray and the creature still out and about. He needed to get a headcount now. Returning indoors, he traveled to and fro, tracking down those who were slain or incapacitated by the creature. He not only found three who had fallen, but there were even more that disappeared entirely. Malgam also could not find Plume or Bernard anywhere in the facility. Desperately needing an outlet for his growing anger, the eevee bellowed in rage, a force expelling from his body and shattering a glass wall nearby.

* * *

Bernard trudged through the thick of the woods, moving awkwardly thanks to the newfound pain that settled on his frame. His whole torso burned from the devastating blow that the eevee laid down on him. He was lucky enough that he wound up breaking through that wall, enabling him to escape the scene entirely. His rampage was not even close to being over, at least that is what he kept telling himself. He had lounged in that weaker form's empty void of a mind for a long time now, his resentment building with every passing day he remained immobile. It was time for the world to know the suffering he had to endure. He would tend to his wounds and continue his frenzy in due time.

As the midnight lycanroc proceeded to delve into the denser sections of the woods, he started to slow his pace, believing he was well-concealed. He sat down to rest against a dirt mound, reclining finally. Despite the pain that lingered, he felt very refreshed, especially with a full stomach. While he idled inside of his weaker counterpart's mind, he could share the feelings that his midday form experienced. With full control of their body now, the sensations were a lot stronger than he imagined. It would take him a while to get used to it. He lounged there on the ground for a while, taking in these sensations and meditating, something he did not expect to find himself doing. The lycanroc was full of rage, but it was not enough to cloud his judgment entirely.

Suddenly a rustling sound came up from his right side. The midnight lycanroc opened his eyes from his meditation and rolled them to the right. Bernard's eyes glowed a soft pinkish-red, standing out in the dark woods like a beacon. He kept them glued onto a series of bushes that shook ever so gently. The lycanroc slowly got onto all fours, preparing himself to pounce on the unfortunate soul that came across his vicinity. He thought he could see something shining within the brush, the moonlight reflecting off of its surface. What then popped out from inside the bushes sent a foreboding chill down the rock dog's spine. A familiar frill poked out, and then a bluish sheen—a vaporeon was emerging from the vegetation. Yelping in fright with the intense sensation of fear welling up again, the lycanroc turned tail and sped away from the threat. He had a feeling they would have followed him all this way. Regardless of his killer intentions, that creature was not worth clashing against. One more of those hydro pumps could take him out for good.

Dashing away another mile or so, the midnight lycanroc again slowed his pace, his stomach churning with resentment towards all of his physical activity. Bernard realized it was futile to keep running. He would simply have to prepare himself for when the next encounter would come. How were those fools even able to continue finding him regardless of where he ran? The lycanroc looked around and noticed a clearing up ahead. Emerging past the line of trees surrounding it, he came across what looked like a deliberately plowed field. Across the field were bountiful crops that yielded a large assortment of berries.

Gazing more closely at the scene, he thought he could see a figure behind one of the tall plants. Bernard squinted his eyes, trying to conceal them in the darkness as much as he could while approaching the figure. As he got closer, it did not seem to stop whatever it was engaged in. The lycanroc grinned to himself, starting to drool as his bloodlust started to return to him, his heart pumping in primal excitement. He stopped in his tracks as the figure suddenly stepped out from behind the berry plant. It was a lucario wearing a tattered brown jacket, berries held in her paws as she chewed away at a few in her mouth, bulging her cheeks outwards. The lucario also came to a halt when her eyes met the lycanroc's. The two stared for a while, Bernard not understanding why he was hesitant to attack. There was something about this bipedal creature that put him off. He cursed himself, frustrated that the simple prospect of a rampage was becoming progressively difficult to pull off.

Abandoning all restraints, Bernard pounced, snarling in a blazing rage with sharp claws outstretched. The lucario was ready for this, and she reared back to swing her paw in an uppercut motion, catching Bernard straight in the chest. Using this force, the lucario whirled back and launched the lycanroc further into the fields, him crashing into a row of crops and destroying them. The lycanroc skid across the ground and scrambled to get his footing back. Right when he did so, the lucario was already inches away from him, her body twisting and readying another powerful blow. Her paw raised, she let it fall over the lycanroc's head, pounding him a good few inches into the dirt.

Bernard bellowed in anger as he rocketed his body forward, tackling the lucario with reckless abandon. Both of the pokémon brawled and beat one another in a flurry of rage, blue lights shimmering and flickering in the fray with the emission of the lucario's intense aura. The two clasped each other's shoulders with their forepaws, bending down and getting a breather from the constant barrage of attacks. They stared at each other with a strong resentment, the aura pokémon's eyes radiating an acute sky blue and the rock pokémon's eyes glowing red with utter bloodlust.

The lucario looked down to notice the lycanroc's slightly swollen belly. Recovering first, she brought up a knee with relentless force into the stomach of the lycanroc, the bulge bouncing upwards with the blow. Bernard felt a heavy lurch within him, a horrible sick sensation taking over as he fell onto his knees. His large paws on the ground, he felt like he was going to spew his guts out. The tension that squeezed his body from inside almost asphyxiated him as he attempted to fight back. The lucario simply watched as Bernard started to retch. Eventually, a round, fur-matted object appeared between the rock pokémon's lips, his cheeks swelling.

With a hefty spit, a quilava exited the maw of the dog, splatting on the ground and completely wet with saliva. The lucario tempted to inspect the unmoving fire type, she kept her eyes focused on the lycanroc, who was sputtering and hyperventilating. Not wanting to give him another chance to collect himself and cause more damage, the lucario brought back a leg and delivered a powerful kick directly into the side of Bernard's head. Unable to act, the lycanroc took the blow, blacking out instantly.

* * *

Hildegard watched as the lycanroc crumpled and passed out. Watching him for another good minute or so, she finally concluded the creature was unconscious. She looked back at the pokémon that the rock dog regurgitated, a female quilava, and walked over to her. Squatting, Hildegard put a paw onto the creature, trying to connect with her aura; it was awfully faint, but it was there. The lucario let out a sigh as she reached into her jacket to pull out one of the oran berries she took from the fields. Hildegard stared at the berry for a bit before looking back at the partially destroyed crop lands. The leading individuals of the Sanctuary were going to give her an earful for sure. If she did not sense such a colossal and alluring source of aura in this haven, she would have left a long time ago, and she really did not want to deal with the inevitable repercussions of this battle.

The lucario gently moved the berry to the quilava's small mouth. The stench of the pokémon was truly something to behold. She wondered how long the fire type sat in the guts of that wretched dog. Softly, Hildegard pushed the berry in, and was surprised to see the quilava's jaw move to accept the berry, very slowly chewing away. Her eyes remained closed and berry juice dribbled down her cheek as she continued to masticate. Hildegard felt the urge to take in the creature and care for it until it recovered, but she was in no position to be doing such.

Even as she dwelled in these thoughts, a blood-curdling scream sounded from afar. Hildegard looked up to see that the bayleef, Marmalade, was gazing down upon the scene, looking like she caught sight of a frightening ghoul. Behind the bayleef were Sagefox and Fleur, ever-present, and ever-annoying. The lucario felt like running then and there.

* * *

Sagefox, with the unconscious quilava curled in his arms, entered his domain with Fleur and Hildegard following behind. Walking across the large chamber and towards his room, Fleur kept giving passing glances to the lucario, deeply disappointed at what transpired. None of them said a single word as their footsteps echoed in the massive compartment. Hildegard simply kept her head dipped downward. She was unable to leave, wanting to see what was to become of the quilava and the lycanroc. Not a single shred of guilt was on her face, and this frustrated the lopunny even more.

Finally, they all entered the old fox's room, the delphox setting the quilava down on the familiar table. He ran his hand against her body gently, muttering something both the lucario and the lopunny mother could not make out. This session went on for a few minutes, and then the delphox turned to face the two ladies with a sigh, crossing his arms.

"The poor thing is alive, indeed, but very much weakened," he said, his voice hoarse with sleepiness, sounding like a motor was running in his throat.

"I could have told you that," Hildegard said quietly, brushing a foot against the ground. The sagely fox's face wrinkled with growing upset as he stared down the lucario.

"What happened, Hildegard?" he asked as if he were chastising a rebellious child. The lucario scoffed and did not wish to make this conversation longer than it had to be.

"That lycanroc attacked me. I kicked him and he spit out that thing," Hilde explained bluntly.

"Is that really all?" Sagefox asked tentatively. "What were you even doing out in the berry fields."

"I was eating berries," Hildegard said, her stark honesty taking the delphox aback. Sagefox could not detect a single bit of negative aura coming from the lucario.

"So it was simply your fight that caused the destruction of the fields," he stated, to which Hildegard nodded without looking at him. "Well, I will tend to this poor soul here. She can recover for sure, so at least there's that." Sage ambled over to the quilava, who could now be seen visibly breathing. Hildegard gazed at her and felt a sense of relief, not sure why she cared so much for the thing. She regretted even more not extracting the aura from that dumb dog pokémon. "As for you, Hildegard," he started, the lucario snapped out of her train of thought, "you will be helping in the recovery of our berry fields."

Hildegard angrily said, "That was not my fault!"

"Maybe you did not intend to destroy it, but you still contributed to its destruction," the delphox then smiled, which caused chills to course in the lucario's steel bones. "Don't fret, you will have some help in this task."

* * *

Sol shut the steel gates of a prison cell once the lycanroc was tossed inside. The prison was a very wide building, fortified with thick layers of brick. It sat outside and did not consist of any interior aside from the cells themselves, which were very numerous. The first two cells were already occupied by the feisty azumarill, and the next one with the samurott that had attacked him. By order of this "Queen," they were to release the samurott the following morning. The water pokémon herself agreed not to lash out and leave in peace once she was given the message by the Queen.

The azumarill, Puru, however, was still adverse to remaining in the Sanctuary. Sol was told by Sagefox that both he and the lycanroc he just imprisoned would be engaging in some tough labor to help restore the Sanctuary. The grovyle, having already taken a liking to the azumarill, aimed to assist him with the work when the time came. He looked up at the moon hanging in the sky and reflected on this familiar, welcoming feeling that he had so long ago as a treecko—the feeling that came with purpose.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Fleur's Rebirth

Hildegard woke up with a start, feeling a sharp jab on her belly. Rising speedily with her paws lifted up and ready for combat, she was gravely disappointed to find Sagefox standing in front of her, retracting his stick. She was inside her room, morning only creeping up as the outdoors were being dressed in the soft glow of the rising sun. Hildegard looked into the delphox's gaze and then turned away, lowering her paws in embarrassment. She huffed with contempt, knowing what he was here for.

Sagefox chuckled and said, "How easily I could have just incinerated you where you slept." The lucario felt a pang of fear in her heart and glared at the old fox, who bursted out laughing at his remark. He raised his hands and shook them in a reassuring gesture. "It was a joke! Just a joke, my dear Hildegard." Hildegard stood up and turned her back to the delphox as she walked towards the window, making it clear she thought very little of his jesting. After an awkward pause, Sagefox proceeded to ask. "Are you ready to begin tilling?" Hildegard barely turned her head, her eye rolling far to see the delphox in her peripherals. She did not even want to look at him.

"This early?" she groaned. Sagefox sighed deeply.

"Better time to start, really. Besides, I heard you've been sleeping quite a lot these days."

"What business is it of yours?" Hilde snapped. "I'm not hurting anyone."

"Maybe not, but just making an example is all," Sagefox paced the room, his long fur robe dragging against the ground softly. "It's better for someone as young as you to rise this early. Healthy too. There's breakfast and the greeting of the morning sun. You don't eat breakfast do you?"

"Don't start," the lucario interrupted the delphox before he went off on a lecture she did not need. "Just tell me what the hell 'tilling' is." Sagefox smiled at this, amused at how little Hildegard knew of these types of activities. The lucario was a city pokémon for the majority of her life. Her getting experience in this would surely open her eyes more to the beauty of the wilderness.

* * *

Fleur ambled towards the direction of the jail cells, keeping in mind the small stone structures that guided her path within the denser parts of the Sanctuary. She was tasked with checking up on the new addition to the haven, albeit an unwelcome one. She was still quite shaken from the first time she laid eyes on the creature. Despite the large variety of pokémon she had seen in her life, this one was not like the others, and it did not just stop with his mere appearance. There was a strange aura from him, somewhat like the sort emanating from Hildegard, but instead with a vile sensation that burrowed deep into her core. Sagefox intended to meet with the lopunny, and she was very grateful for this. She had no idea what they were going to do about the creature, but she held faith that the delphox would have a plan.

Emerging through a line of trees and into a clearing, Fleur caught sight of the wide building that served as a collection of holding cells. At one of the gates was Sagefox, looking directly into the cell he stood in front of. Fleur walked up to him, his ears perking up even when little noise was made with her soft feet. Sagefox turned his head, his eyes meeting hers. They did a short bow to each other, then the delphox gestured to come closer. The lopunny mother did so and gazed at the old fox with puzzlement. Without a word, he jerked his head towards the cell. Fleur looked over his shoulder and peered into the dark chamber, her eyes adjusting. She saw a figure in there and expected the red fur and malicious, glowing eyes of the creature to connect with her own.

What she saw instead sent her into a state of confusion—instead of the horrible beast she saw last night, there was a canine creature with a cream-colored fur coat and a white streak starting from his muzzle and running down to his belly. He wore a black headband and a wristband with spikes jutting out of it. These were the same accessories that the beast from last night was wearing—they almost appeared like they were created by humans. The creature himself was full of fear, huddled up against the wall and his body curled up. The skittish rock dog gazed at the two pokémon outside with bright and tense eyes, seeming too innocent to have caused the commotion last night.

Sagefox spoke up, "Do you remember anything?" The dog's glossy eyes focused on the delphox. He was wordless and looked as if he was trying to recall something. The old fox sighed and nudged Fleur lightly. "This was one of the creatures handing out those ridiculous posters. He's at least a part of that strange group." Fleur acknowledged this with a nod but still showed puzzlement at what she had seen here. "You're concerned about his current form, yes?"

"He looked very different last night," Fleur clarified. Sagefox nodded in understanding. "And now, he doesn't just look different in appearance, but his countenance…"

"It is very odd, indeed," Sagefox turned to face the dog pokémon once again. "Though I would not say that would excuse you from what transpired." The canine gazed up at him again in utter confusion.

"What did I do?" he groaned in worriment, shuffling uncomfortably.

"I already told you, young one. You've ransacked our berry fields and attacked one of our own," the delphox explained. Fleur was not sure she could call Hildegard one of their own, but the canid pokémon could have done a lot worse if not for the lucario. The quilava he expelled from his gut was no one the lopunny had ever seen around the Sanctuary either.

"Did I hurt anybody?" the creature asked with hesitation, whimpering.

"You had swallowed somebody, whole thankfully. We were able to save her," the delphox assured him. The dog's eyes suddenly grew wide as he raised his head.

"Her? Wh-Who was it?" he stuttered with slight excitement and morbid curiosity.

"A quilava. She's currently being treated," Sagefox revealed, to which the imprisoned pokémon started to laugh and breathe hard with relief.

"Thank you," he muttered happily. "Thank you for saving her."

"Well, it wasn't all our doing," Sagefox said, scratching his chin fur. "If the pokémon you attacked hadn't done anything about it, the quilava would have perished for sure. Speaking of said pokémon…" the delphox turned to face the direction of the berry fields, "you will be joining them in repairing our garden. Your scuffle last night has caused some serious damage."

"I understand," the rock pokémon blurted, to both Sage and Fleur's surprise. "I had to atone for many things I have done in the past." There was an awkward silence as Sagefox tried to digest this. He ambled close to the cell and squatted down, putting his focus solely on the canine, who looked uncomfortable.

"You truly have no control over this night form of yours?" Sagefox asked tenderly, to which the creature shook his head sadly. "You poor soul. Does this happen every nightfall?"

"Not every nightfall," the canid cleared up. "I usually try to take cover...from the moon."

"Interesting," Sagefox said quietly, listening with great intent as the canid continued to explain.

"I don't know what it is about it that causes me to change, but I had taken cover in a human building, hoping it would shield me from the moon." He gulped in nervousness, realizing how dire his situation was. "But then last night I changed anyhow. I didn't even make any contact with the moon's rays and it still happened." He whimpered as he dug his snout into his paws. "I don't know what to do anymore!"

"There, there," Sagefox said, reaching into the cell and placing a hand on the dog's scruffy shoulder. "I can understand your plight now, but we can help contain this form of yours. We can even give you shelter as well."

"You can?"

"Of course, though since you are quite the special case, we will have to see what we can do to prevent an occurrence like this. For now, though," the delphox stood up to fiddle with the lock mechanism on the gate, eventually opening it with a deep, metallic groan, "perhaps you will benefit from some sunshine and a good day's work, hm?" The canine reluctantly stepped out of his confines, breathing in deeply and with reprieve as the sun's rays coated his body. He turned to face the delphox and bowed with gratefulness.

"Thank you."

"Fleur will show you to the berry fields," Sagefox said, eying Fleur with a wink. She looked down at the dog pokémon, who looked eager to work. She was glad this worked out so well, but her mind continued to race with how they would deal with him during the night. The creature was so well-mannered and honest that she could not believe this was the same brutish being from before.

With Sagefox, she directed the rock pokémon to the berry fields. During the short trip, the creature introduced himself as Bernard. He expressed interest in remaining in the Sanctuary as long as they could help him with his situation. Fleur was offput by this, worried that he may cause even more destruction, but Sagefox seemed a lot more comfortable with the canine staying with them. She wondered what was going through the fox's mind and wished she could be as tranquil and collected as him, though that most likely came through knowledge.

Sagefox and Fleur introduced the canine pokémon to Hildegard, who was already there being tutored by Marmalade as to how to properly till the land. Unsurprisingly, the lucario was awkward in her performance, though Marmalade ensured Sagefox that she was learning quickly. Hildegard did not pay much mind to Bernard, not recognizing him in the slightest. The two went to work, the bayleef guiding them every step of the way, albeit rather sternly.

Fleur watched from a small hill against the tree line as the pokémon toiled, Sagefox standing not far from her. The lopunny felt a bit troubled, as if something were trying to dig its way out from deep within her. She was attempting to retract something, hoping any mention or thought of it would not come up, but she knew that she would have to face it eventually. Sagefox was ready to remind her.

"So," the delphox started, drawing out the word and causing Fleur to flinch, "do you think you are ready?" Fleur thought hard before trying to play dumb. Doing so would surely have disappointed the delphox, who had taken her in and mentored her in her hardest time. Many seasons of training and self-reflection led up to this moment.

"Should we do this now?" the mother lopunny asked. Even if she had trained hard, still she did not feel she was ready to take on this task, but she knew it was anxiety biting down at her core. It would be the most intense session she would go through—this would prove that she would indeed be the perfect pokémon to uphold the legacy of the Sanctuary.

Sagefox sensed Fleur's nervousness and walked to her, placing his hand on her shoulder with a warm smile. A relieving aura seemed to come from his touch, coursing along the rabbit pokémon's whole body. "Don't be afraid," he whispered to her. After several seconds, Fleur nodded without a word, standing and taking a deep breath. It was time for her to step up and confront her demons.

* * *

The two pokémon traveled to Sage's dwelling, the large stone temple standing high and mighty as it always did. Fleur had seen the temple many times of course, but on this very day, the stone structure struck her with fear. Her heartbeat quickened and her insides felt like they had been scooped out of her. Despite being within the sunlight, the lopunny mother felt cold. They ascended up the large stone stairs until they entered through the large opening on the front. Sagefox had designated the location of their session to be in the middle of the vast chamber they entered.

The delphox raised up a hand, pressing two fingers together and then snapping loudly. The loud sound of grinding rock emanated from behind and Fleur whirled to see that the entrance of the temple was being sealed by a massive stone. This was the first time Fleur had ever seen this, the opening having never been closed since she first arrived at the haven. She began to panic as darkness swallowed them up, the last crack of light eventually snuffed out as the stone seated snugly against the entrance frame.

"Calm yourself, Fleur," Sagefox said softly as he snapped again, a pillar of light suddenly forming in front of them, illuminating the center platform where the delphox normally meditated. This light beam grew larger as a stone from above shifted to welcome the sun. Fleur was taken aback by this entire setup. She knew that this moment would probably be one of the most important times of her entire life, but the lopunny did not expect an atmosphere such as this.

Sagefox ambled to the platform and sat on one side of it, clearly expecting Fleur to seat herself on the other end. Swallowing anxiously, the lopunny hesitantly walked to the other end of the platform. Feeling the warmth of the sun above her, she began to breathe deeply, trying to settle herself for what was to come. Seating herself on the cool stone floor, the rabbit pokémon crossed her legs and slowly gazed up at Sagefox, the delphox's shining eyes already focused on her. He gave her a smile to comfort her. He adjusted his spectacles.

"This is it, Fleur. If you can manage this, I assure you the darkness that grips your heart will be eradicated," the old fox stated. He already knew that the motherly rabbit was prepared, despite how nervous she appeared. All the training has led to this session, and he knew she would not disappoint him. He was very proud of Fleur and her work as his student, almost seeing her as his own child. Fleur gave him a nod and breathed deeply once again, her breast visibly expanding. As she exhaled, she closed her eyes. Seconds later, she felt a sudden twinge in her head, a strange sensation that eventually eased her muscles. Her body became numb as she succumbed to the psychic spell, drifting into a profound, meditative slumber.

* * *

Fleur was squatted down in the middle of a snowy clearing in the hibernating forest, speckles of snow gently falling. The trap was set in place, the trap being the lopunny mother herself. She looked off the corner of her eye to see the zangooses, Klosson and Tanner, taking cover behind snow-covered shrubs, concealed well with their mostly white fur coats. Their plan was in motion—they made it their mission to attract the deadly, giant seviper that terrorized the land and to put an end to its life once and for all. The seviper would be attracted to Fleur, seeing her as an easy snack, and when it would rear in would be the most optimal time for the zangooses to deliver the killing blows.

The lopunny noticed the zangooses crouching down further, remaining as still as they could. Fleur's ears twitched slightly in response to the distant sound of dragging from behind getting louder with each second. There was no mistaking the heaviness of the noise—this was indeed the seviper. Her heart started to pump as she developed negative thoughts, wondering if this silly plan was going to succeed at all. Did the zangooses think they would be powerful enough to take it down in the first place? She forced herself to think positively, remembering that she drove it off on her own. With all of them in one place fighting, there should be no way for the dreaded snake pokémon to escape this fight with its life.

The dragging was loud enough that Fleur suspected the creature to be a few paces away now. Then the noise suddenly stopped. A soft hiss came from behind and curiosity overcame Fleur. She very slightly turned her head so that the seviper appeared in her peripherals. She did not have to focus much to realize it was preparing to strike. It was almost humorous how such a large creature would think she did not hear it dragging its heavy body to catch its next meal. It was certainly not the most elegant predator she had encountered.

The seviper's hissing came to a halt and Fleur knew that it was time. A rough, quick dragging of snow signaled Fleur, and she prepared to leap out of the way for Klosson and Tanner to wail on the vile creature. Before she could, however, a couple voices rang that caused her heart to stop. She heard the clamoring of the zangooses as they attempted to reach out and catch the two children of Fleur.

The bunearies raced to their mother, calling out her name and alerting her to the giant seviper. Swearing under her breath, Fleur leapt to her children as the zangooses emerged from their hiding spot, their claws outstretched for the kill. The element of surprise having been mostly diminished, the seviper was able to react to the attack. With a mighty whip of its tail, the snake pokémon knocked aside the two zangooses from the air effortlessly. Klosson crashed into a tree, knocking the wind out of him; Tanner skid across the ground, having received a gash across his chest since he was hit by the blade-end of the tail. Poisoned from the tail, Tanner was greatly weakened, unable to act and tending to his wound.

Fleur felt a great urge to help out the zangoose, but could not leave her children behind. Tearing her eyes away from Tanner, she whirled back at the seviper to see it lunging its large tail towards their direction. The tail veered to the side, narrowly missing the three rabbit pokémon. Fleur looked behind her and saw that it was curling its tail around them. Fleur bent down to scoop up her children, aiming to jump from its coils, but it was too late. The seviper's body squeezed them together with blinding speed, tight enough to where they could hardly move without succumbing to pain. The snake pokémon then went on its way, slithering speedily away from the clearing and into the denser part of the forest.

The lopunny mother could do nothing but wonder where the snake was taking them. Her children cried out ceaselessly in pain, adding to the mental torture she had to endure. She tried to look around for anything that could help them in this dire situation, but her arms and ears were held tight. Fleur even considered using her mouth to grab onto a stray branch, but at the speed they were moving, it might prove fatal for her.

Minutes later, they finally came to a stop as the snake dragged them up a path along a cliff face. Reaching the summit, Fleur caught sight of a stony cave that was nestled against a line of trees. The seviper hissed in relief as it crawled to the shelter. The snow was beginning to pick up, a blistering wind strengthening as well. They entered the cave, providing much-needed warmth against the chilling weather, though it brought little to no light in Fleur's current situation. The seviper made itself comfortable, coiling around a spot in the middle of the cave. It craned its neck so that its piercing, red eyes observed its triple catch. Fleur thought she could see it smile devilishly, a string of saliva dripping from its mouth. Her heart pounded, the rabbit pokémon believing she knew what was to come. She tried to struggle in its grasp, but the seviper only tightened its coils more, causing all three rabbits to groan in agony.

Fleur's skin beneath her coat shivered as she heard the first words ever to come out of the seviper's mouth, "You have been very troublesome." It drawled out its S's, combining them with a prolonged hiss. The lopunny mother's children whimpered in fear as the snake dipped its head closer to them, its tongue slipping in and out of its lips, savoring their smell. "You thought you could kill me?" it asked, nudging Fleur with its snout. The rabbit, taking this opportunity to attack, lunged her head forward and sunk her teeth into the scale-covered nose. She was barely able to pierce it, but still caused the snake to retract, it letting out a sharp hiss that was more like a cry of startlement rather than pain.

Once it collected itself, the snake hissed low and ominously, clearly upset. Fleur suddenly regretted what she did, though the rabbit was quite sure the snake had no intentions of releasing them at this point. Fleur gently shushed her children, trying to comfort them as they wept.

"Very well. I will enjoy this, snack," the seviper uttered fiendishly as it craned its head over to one of Fleur's children. The lopunny was frozen in shock as the snake opened its maw, its warm breath wafting over them and filling her nostrils with a vile stench. As the seviper closed its jaw around the buneary, Fleur's chest swelled with a fiery rage on the verge of exploding. The lopunny mother screamed out as the snake lifted the child from the tight grip of its coils. With a flick of its head, the buneary disappeared into the seviper's gullet, the snake swallowing hungrily. Fleur watched on in terror as the bulge traveled down the poison-type's body.

Fleur continued to scream and shout with violent fury, disregarding the pain as she twisted and waved her upper body about, her efforts in vain as the seviper inched towards them once again, this time towards the other buneary. With the same amount of ease, the snake pokémon pulled the child from its coils. Fleur bit down on the snake's jaw, but its scales were too slippery for her to cling on. Tears streamed down the lopunny's cheeks uncontrollably as the seviper let the child slide into his throat in a taunting manner. As it swallowed the buneary down, Fleur broke down, only able to wail and sob pitifully, only thinking of her children suffering in the tight confines of the seviper. At this point, she held no regard for her own life, pleading with the snake to let them live.

The seviper did not regard the lopunny's emotional plight and only said to her, "You will join them soon, nuisance." Fleur could only stare in sheer terror as the snake's maw opened wide, welcoming her to the dark, fleshy tunnel before her. Suddenly it reeled its head back violently, taking a blow from something out of Fleur's view. From the side of her vision, a white blur sped through the scene and a small stream of blood whipped across the air, some of it splatting onto Fleur. Her eyes widened as she saw the blur land and realized that it was Klosson! The snake cried out in pain, its coils loosening around the rabbit pokémon.

Wasting no time, Fleur grasped the snake's body and leapt, rapidly propelling herself from the creature's grasp. The seviper hissed and sputtered in surprise, unfolding its body to prepare for a fight. Seething with rage, the lopunny made a mad dash towards the poison-type. Bouncing off its body, she used the momentum to deliver a mighty kick to its skull, knocking the giant snake into the stone wall. The seviper's right eye was closed with a large gash across it, a steady stream of blood pouring from the wound that Klosson inflicted on it. Despite its pathetic stature, Fleur gave the creature no room to breathe, nor any mercy. It craned its head up but had no time to collect its bearings as Fleur pressed her other foot square against its throat. She trembled with anger, tightening the grip she had on the snake's neck and applying more and more force, gritting her teeth. Its neck was slowly being crushed between the stone wall and her foot, and Fleur was only putting forth more pressure, spittle dripping out the side of her mouth. The snake eyed her with a look of absolute fear as its life was gradually waning away. It gurgled, trying to talk, but the pressure was too much for it to sound anything but unintelligible. With a sickening snap, the seviper was still, keeling over lifelessly.

The mother stood over the corpse of the snake, her fists clenched; her breathing was heavy and fast. Off her peripherals, the lopunny could see Klosson watching on with awe.

"Fleur, I—" Klosson could not finish his sentiments as the lopunny marched to the snake's head. The zangoose rushed over to her in a panic as she forced open the mouth of the seviper. "What are you doing?!" Without a single moment of hesitation, Fleur dove into the snake's throat, forcing her way through the tight flesh. Klosson kept a grip on the rabbit's heels, afraid she might pull him in with her. The rabbit went far enough that only her feet poked out from the entrance of the gullet. Klosson was almost ready to let go until a muffled scream sounded from inside the snake's body. His chest feeling cold with foreboding, he used all his strength to pull Fleur out of the seviper. The resistance was heavy and he could not tell if it was from the tight insides or Fleur herself. Eventually her tail appeared, then her shoulders, and then her head. Fleur's arms were outstretched, still stuck in the throat.

With one more mighty pull, Klosson removed Fleur from the inside of the snake... as well as something else that sent an awful chill down his spine. Fleur had her buneary children in her grasp, and they were not moving. The rabbit mother started to mumble gibberish as she brought them close to her body. The three pokémon were covered in revolting saliva, and Klosson could only look on helplessly as the lopunny got onto her knees, rocking back and forth as the children remained close to her breast. The zangoose was devastated, but he could not even imagine what Fleur was going through. The lopunny mother began to hyperventilate, the harshness of her reality becoming more clear to her. Opening her mouth wide, Fleur bellowed with an amalgamation of emotions, grieving so powerfully that Klosson backed into the stone wall, tearing up himself. He could no longer watch as the mourning mother bawled with the impact of her loss.

* * *

In Sagefox's chamber, Fleur was wailing with pure anguish, her eyes still closed. She was still within the trance. Sagefox managed to unhinge himself from the terrible memory. This was where the lopunny was most vulnerable, and now he could have her confront the darkness inside her. The delphox scrambled to Fleur, who dropped back, violently lashing out and writhing on the floor. A stray kick collided with Sagefox's side and he coughed, gritting his teeth against the pain. He forcibly grabbed Fleur by the arms, lifting her and trying to keep her steady despite how roughly she fought back. He cringed as a knee hit his stomach.

The old fox brought her close to him, trying his hardest to restrain her as he said directly into her ear, "Fleur! Fleur, listen to me! That horrible event has passed. There was nothing you could do! Do not hold yourself at such a low point!" Fleur continued to struggle, her lament lingering on. "Your loss has only made you stronger! Your children are at peace! Look!" Fleur's body suddenly stiffened, the lopunny whipping her head upwards to stare at the hole in the ceiling with eyes so wide that Sagefox feared they might pop out of their sockets. Her wailing had finally ceased. Sagefox proceeded to watch, his jaw agape as he moved back to give the mother space.

* * *

There was nothing in Fleur's vision now but a radiant light filling her with warm comfort. As the lopunny gazed upwards into the light, she thought she could see two barely visible silhouettes emerging from beyond the lucid wall before her. The figures darkened as they continued to float downwards. The figures were revealed to be two bunearies. They were holding each other's paw and hover towards Fleur, the lopunny mother trembling as she reached out with both arms. The angelic figures were glowing with a mystifying light, and Fleur could feel a swelling of joy fill the cold hollowness of her core. She took the two bunearies into her embrace. They were pleasantly warm against her body, their scent so familiar to her. Fleur whimpered, overcome with many emotions.

To her departed children, the lopunny mother whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I miss you two so much." Their embrace became tighter as tears continued to stream down Fleur's face. She did not want to let go. She never wanted to let go. Fleur then remembered her two children that were still there, looking up to her. Even though her regret was heavy, it was not a complete loss. Now she would do everything in her power to make sure they grow to become able-bodied and strong. They would continue their lineage.

The two bunearies suddenly lost their physical form, fading away as they dissipated and transformed into a flurry of sparkles, rising up into the radiance once again. Fleur kept her arms folded around her chest, looking up as the beautiful balls of light disappeared from sight. The lopunny mother could sense the coldness inside of her being warmed by a new resolution. Fleur's spirit burned with a fire of determination. She felt she could explode with the flames that billowed from within—she felt _anew._

* * *

Sagefox watched with wonder as the brightest smile he had ever seen formed on the face of this brave and strong-willed lopunny. Her eyes slowly closed, and then she began to tip over. A pang of shock surging through the delphox, Sage bolted forward, catching Fleur before she hit the ground. His back cursed him with a sharp pain of rebellion and the old fox grasped his spine, moaning. He ignored the pain, however, taking a long look at his student within his arms.

"She did it," he said, a tear rolling down his cheek. "You really did it, Fleur. I'm so very proud of you."

* * *

From outside and on the roof of the temple were Hildegard, MeiLi, and Fleur's two remaining children. The kids were sobbing while MeiLi gathered them close to her body, the mienshao also appearing sorrowful at the harrowing scene that occurred below. Hildegard watched as they embraced, feeling melancholy clutching at her inside, but she was not about to show weakness to them. The lucario stood up, feeling her throat tightening as tears began to form in her eyes. She quickly turned and bounded off in a hurry, making a dash for the forest. After running for a couple minutes, she felt she was far from the others. Locating a dip in the ground underneath a curving hill, Hildegard crawled underneath and held her lower legs in a fetal position. The lucario then began to weep bitterly, thinking of her deceased master.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Devilish Plans

Malice's eyes were, as usual, focused on the vault bulkhead that towered over her, but her concentration was not fixated towards it. Instead, with her peripherals, she saw the eevee lord, who was seated next to her. Malgam definitely appeared off, not his normal, irritating self. He had suffered a huge loss and his pride had taken a huge hit.

Despite having stayed all this time, grossly curious about what lied behind the door, the mewtwo found herself not caring a single bit about it any longer. She had only a couple reasons why she stuck around the crumbling human structure. Firstly, recent events that had transpired piqued her interest greatly. At first she was flabbergasted that the eevee lord managed the huge following he had. After the violent incident with the lycanroc, things had been shaken up in the base remarkably. Many of Malgam's followers left and never came back, and some had lost their lives to the rampaging canine pokémon. Malice was disappointed that one of those pokémon was not Xerxes, who still wandered around the facility, returning to the chamber every once in a while to sneak in a glance at her body. Malgam was clearly affected by the incident, his stature having deteriorated much like the building they were in; Malice could not help but feel greatly amused at his downfall.

The mewtwo's second reasoning was a concept she still struggled to fully grasp. Something within her still urged her to stay by the eevee to watch his progress, or in this case, his decline. Malice had a feeling she knew what it was—it was that damn other side of her, trapped tightly within the dark confines of her soul. Malice continued trying her hardest to keep it at bay, for this was her new body, and her new life. She would not have it any other way, as she was more powerful than she ever was and was not ready to throw it all away anytime soon.

Malice slowly craned her head to gaze at the distressed eevee, a slight smirk growing on her muzzle. Seeing the once aloof Malgam having been reduced to a pouty, miffed ball of fluff brought the mewtwo great delight, but she would not leave it there. Using her long purple tail, she nudged the eevee's back, causing him to snarl at his behind, and then towards her.

"What's your problem!?" Malgam growled at her. Malice could not help but chuckle.

"Quite a predicament you've landed yourself in, hm?" she asked in a mocking tone. Malgam stamped his paw down like a child throwing a tantrum.

"How was any of that my fault!? How could I or anyone have guessed that would happen?" the eevee's grating tone began to get on Malice's nerves and she considered stopping, but she was waiting for him to show weakness for a long while and had to make the most of it.

"You were asking for it from the beginning. You're idiotic to think hiring random wild pokémon would go over well, let alone giving them a place to stay in a decrepit structure such as this." Malgam shouted in anger, charging at Malice for a headbutt. The mewtwo outstretched her hand and Malgam went right into her palm. She pushed him roughly, the eevee sliding back on his rump. He flopped over backwards and rolled, quickly scrambling to get back onto his feet. Huffing with indignation, Malgam turned so his back was facing Malice. He lifted his tail in a contemptuous gesture.

"Think what you want, you lab-rattata. My army was progressing very well! Surely, you can give me some credit for what I've accomplished thus far."

"Well, what's next for you?" Malice asked. Malgam paused for a while and then huffed again.

"I have a backup plan, like a good leader should! I'm putting it to work." He walked forward a bit, then turned around to give Malice a scowl. "And if you think I'm getting you any of those stupid puffs soon, you're sorely mistaken!" Malice suddenly felt a twinge of anger and she stood up swiftly, shooting Malgam a fiery glare. The eevee glared back, a virulent energy forming between the two creatures. Before any sort of violence between them could follow, Malice suddenly threw her arm back, which caused the eevee to twitch. Malgam looked behind the mewtwo to see she had a choke hold on Xerxes, the zoroark having blended in with the darkness behind her. With impressive power, Malice swung his body over to her front, the unfortunate zoroark grasping her arm and struggling to breathe. The mewtwo let him go, the dark type crumpling on the ground and coughing heavily.

"What were you doing there, scumbag?" Malice questioned him as he clumsily got back onto his feet.

Xerxes massaged his neck as he spoke, his voice rough from the choking. "I came to announce the Witch's arrival."

"Right," Malice said sarcastically, pointing to Malgam. "I'm sure you also came to bring this idiot his breakfast too." Malgam trotted up to them, looking intrigued.

"The Witch came out of her cave?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," the zoroark confirmed. "You said you wanted the meetup to happen today."

"I did, I did," Malgam said, almost as if he tried to cover up the fact that he himself forgot about it. "Where is she?" A sudden burst of a purple flame from afar signalled the delphox's arrival. The trio silently gazed towards the flame as it slowly inched forward, at the same time illuminating the voluptuous figure of the Witch. The flame was pedestaled in her open hand, which she eventually clenched shut, extinguishing it with a flurry of purple embers fluttering about. The Witch's eyes glowed with an eerie resolve, a wicked look of determination on her pointed face.

"I expect we will be leaving soon?" she asked, her voice smooth and silky but nefariously toned; it sent a shiver down the eevee's spine. "I do hope you will not keep me waiting for long."

"Well, everyone is here now, it looks like," Malgam said, his mood picking back up. "So, yeah, we should be preparing to head out!"

"Good," the Witch stated, her tongue sliding across her lips. "That old fool's soul will finally be mine."

"What exactly are you planning on doing now?" Malice questioned the eevee lord, crossing her arms with a very skeptical look. Before Malgam could indulge her, Xerxes stepped forward and took it upon himself to attempt to impress the impatient mewtwo lady. The zoroark cleared his throat loudly.

"It is a simple plan, Malice. First we will infiltrate the haven while the night is young. I will incite the wrath of the ghosts dwelling beneath the earth and summon them from their resting places."

"And I'm not even going to question how you'll manage that," Malgam said curtly. "I mean, what sort of ghosts are there in that place?"

"Powerful ghosts. Ancient ones. Apparently the entire haven was the site of a human civilization once," the zoroark explained.

"What stops them from ravaging the land?" Malice asked. Xerxes appeared to beam with Malice having given him some sort of attention that did not involve her strangling him.

"This is where the chaos comes into play. A mienshao keeps the spirits at bay, having bountiful experience in this field. She has agreed to pay no mind to the ghosts' release."

"That is curious," Malgam said, standing on his hind legs while scratching his round chin with a paw. "What makes her want to betray her people?"

"That I do not know for sure," Xerxes stated. "However, I have communicated with her for seasons. She seems rather disgruntled, but I'm not worried about the reason." Xerxes flicked the piece of his scarf that hung from his shoulder. "If we are to strike, we must do it now."

"Why are you bothering with all this?" Malice asked, sound irritated. "Are you really jumping so suddenly into this conquest?"

"It's not about conquest, at least not yet," the eevee lord said cheekily. "Apparently a strong being resides in the ruins, one that can indulge me on how to achieve my final form!"

"That's a laugh," Malice sneered. "How is this form any more remarkable than all your other pitiful ones?"

Malgam tried his best not to explode at her in frustration, which Malice was building up in him shockingly fast. "You'll see, moody cat. For now, allow your lord to carry out his duties, will ya?"

"Again, we must strike now," Xerxes interrupted.

"Let's waste no time then! You lead the way," Malgam ordered, smirking menacingly. The trio began to leave the chamber when Malgam felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He turned around to see Malice was trailing behind, much to his surprise. "You want to come?"

"Perhaps I do. Is there a problem with that?" she asked coldly, causing Malgam's mane to stand out.

"Well, no. I mean, you always seemed content sitting on that spot staring at the door," he said nervously.

"I'd just like a change of scenery. If you don't mind, keep moving," she replied with a hint of impatience.

* * *

The four nefarious pokémon went on their way into the forest, which was shrouded by a thick, concealing darkness that the moon could hardly pierce through. Maintaining a low profile, Xerxes kept at the front, leading the crew to the Sanctuary. As they neared it, the team could see a single flame in the distance, standing out like a beacon. Xerxes directed them to circle it from the left, explaining to them a meeting zone he organized with the mienshao.

Arriving to this spot, another light could be seen for a short burst before it faded out. It was a strange, otherworldly white glow, and Xerxes thought he could see the long, slender figure of the mienshao for a brief moment before it waned. He directed everyone towards that spot, and sure enough, the mienshao was there, waiting with a stillness that could have anybody mistake her for a well-adorned statue. The two creatures bowed to each other with no words spoken. Not a single utterance came from either of them as the mienshao took the reins, guiding the group deeper into the dark forest until they came to a single structure. They kept at a distance, seeing a couple pokémon that were guarding it—a charmeleon and an electabuzz.

Malgam whispered harshly, "When did anyone say anything about there being guards at the site?"

"Don't fret," Xerxes said quietly. "This zone is potent. I can feel them becoming restless."

"The ghosts?"

"Yes. I can spread my dark energy here. It will seep below the ground and anger them," Xerxes explained.

"Why don't we exterminate them?" Malice spoke up. Malgam groaned, shaking his head.

"Beckoning the ghosts would do more than distract those two. It would distract the other powerful residents of the haven," Xerxes clarified, clearly trying to sound respectful to the mewtwo. "We are trying to make this a clean process. Preferably, no lives should be lost."

"This was never made known to me," the Witchfox hissed. "A life will be lost tonight, I can assure you, and if any of you get in my way, you will suffer the same fate!"

"Alright, alright," Malgam said, grimacing. "You do your thing. As long as I can capture this creature, the mission is a success." Xerxes sighed in annoyance and put a claw down onto the ground.

"It begins now," he uttered as a dark aura began to form around his body, growing with every second. Wisps of dark purple smoke emanated from the zoroark and slowly begun to sink into the earth, just as water would. Malgam bit his lip, looking back at the two guarding pokémon and making sure they were not noticing the activity. He felt fortunate that the process seemed to be rather quiet and not very flashy.

After minutes of pouring out this dark energy, Xerxes finally put a stop to it, shivering violently before retracting his claw as if having put it on a hot surface. He grasped it with his other claw, groaning slightly.

"You okay there, buddy?" Malgam asked, the zoroark shooting him a glare.

"I am perfectly fine, don't worry about me," Xerxes replied with a rough tone.

"Well, did it work?" Malgam was looking around in puzzlement. "I don't notice anything going on."

Suddenly, a voice sounded from the distance, "Who goes there?" Malgam's fur stood on end as he laid his bright eyes on the two pokémon guards, who were making their way to the malicious crew. Malgam threw himself down behind a bush, swearing in rapid-fire.

"When is it happening? When!?" he whispered sharply as the others followed suit and crouched low.

"Any second now. Stay down!" Xerxes commanded as the guards got closer and closer to their position.

"I don't know what you are all afraid of," Malice said as she stood up, floating and glowing with a radiant, purple psychic energy.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Malgam cried as the mewtwo extended an arm, the energy intensifying around her hand, which was pointing to the two guard pokémon.

"Who is that!?" the charmeleon roared, preparing to attack. "Have you seen this pokémon?" he asked his partner.

The electabuzz had electricity coursing across his body as he also got ready for the impending battle. "Never in my life," he responded. Before the clash could carry out, a horrible moaning resonated that shook the very earth, sounding like a violent, turbulent wind. All the pokémon froze in place, trying to make sense of the noise. The tremors grew stronger as discordant voices and screams gradually began to fill the air. Copious wisps could be seen sprouting up from various places around the forest, taking an amorphous, gaseous form. These wisps begun to transform and shape into various ghost pokémon, bellowing with rage and seething with a ghostly aura. The other pokémon, including Malice, dodged and scrambled about, trying to avoid contact with the angered spirits. Malgam whirled around, seeing that the mienshao as well as Witchfox were now missing.

"What is going on!?" Malgam shouted amidst the otherworldly noises. Gazing towards the structure, he saw that the two guards were scattered, trying to fend off the ghosts. The eevee was then surprised to see there was another figure on top of the structure. It was the mienshao, who was performing a strange dance while ghosts revolved and fluttered all around her, appearing as a swirl of purple smog. Malgam noticed more and more of the ghosts became attracted to the mienshao. This was his opportunity!

Making a dash for the structure while ducking and weaving around the still grounded ghost pokémon remaining, the eevee lord eventually made it to the opening. He threw himself forward, making a reckless dive for the interior. Landing on his belly, the eevee skid a few feet across the stone floor. The noise was suddenly a lot less blaring and he speedily gazed behind him, realizing none of the pokémon were after him.

Getting back onto his feet, the eevee swept a paw across his fur, getting the grit off of his coat as he studied the interior of the structure. It was a medium-sized chamber, its only stand-out feature being the circular platform in the center with its surface covered with a very fine layer of sand. It was off-putting how neat and level the sand appeared, but the eevee already knew from the start that this was significant.

Malgam then noticed someone standing within the shadows ahead. It was Xerxes, who looked like he was waiting all this time.

"How in arceus' name did you get here before me?" he uttered with pure shock. Xerxes scoffed and walked towards the sandy platform.

"Let's not dawdle. You get what you need and let's get out," Xerxes stated firmly.

"I'll take my time, thanks!" Malgam spat. "Besides, who knows how big these ruins are?"

"You don't even know what you're after, do you?" the zoroark jeered, crossing his arms. Malgam puffed up his cheeks, starting to get agitated.

"I know what I'm looking for. Maybe I don't know what kind of pokémon are down there, but I have a goal and I will accomplish it!"

"Well, anyway," Xerxes started, brushing off the eevee's boldness, "all you have to do to get in is stand in the middle of the platform here." Malgam without hesitation, set his paws on the sandy surface. It felt firm, but at the same time strangely spongy, like if he made a single wrong step, he would sink in. As he went towards the middle, he noticed that the pawprints he was leaving eventually disappeared on the surface, the sand filling the depressions and making itself level again.

"What now?" Malgam asked impatiently. Xerxes approached and started to run a claw through the sand around the eevee in particular patterns. The marks he was leaving on the sand did not fade away like Malgam's pawprints did. Xerxes went around behind the eevee and continued scrawling down the odd markings. Malgam shifted, wanting to see what he was doing.

"Stop that. Keep still," the zoroark ordered. Malgam huffed in annoyance.

"You better not be doing anything fishy," he grumbled. Xerxes ignored him and proceeded, eventually doing a full circle around the eevee. Malgam suddenly felt the ground gave way and the sound of falling sand could be heard, his paws sinking into the surface. The eevee begun to panic as the sand had a grip on his paws, making him unable to move from the spot.

"Good luck down there, Lord Malgam," Xerxes said with a mocking tone, watching the eevee helplessly sinking deeper and deeper. Malgam held his breath as the sand started to swallow up his head. Closing his eyes and fully emerged within the sand, soon enough the eevee no longer felt sand engulfing his feet. He continued to sink until his entire body beneath his neck became suspended. Malgam dangled around, trying to pull his head out of the sand as well. He finally emerged, falling onto a dirt floor with an echoing thud. Malgam blinked a few times, adjusting his eyes to his new surroundings. Looking around, he was in a rather narrow corridor whose walls were shaped and carved a particular way. This was certainly not a naturally made underground tunnel. He looked up to see where he fell from and noticed the sandy platform on the ceiling. Malgam was curious how the sand remained up there, but decided not to dwell on it. He made it, now he must find the answer he was looking for.

The corridor was eerily quiet, as he expected it would be, and he wondered how many ancient pokémon could be down here. His imagination went wild as he walked down the dark hall, not paying too much mind to the creepiness of the whole environment. The tunnel seemed to be rather straightforward with no labyrinthine branches or deadly traps in the way. Malgam snapped out of his fantasies to inspect the walls as he made his way down. They were carved in square patterns, with the insides of the squares pushed inwards slightly as if they were meant to be storing shelves. These were seemingly endless, stretching down the hallway with no end in sight.

* * *

Malgam groaned, getting more nervous the deeper he went down these mysterious catacombs. He transformed into his espeon form with a flash of light and stood on his hind legs. Closing his eyes, Malgam shot out an echo beam, trying to figure out the distance of this hall. Within a second, he detected the beam reverberating and scattering in different directions with a good several seconds in between each collision; this meant that a large chamber was not too far from his current position. Excitedly, Malgam trotted down the hallway, a big grin on his face. While it was strange he still encountered not a single pokémon, not even a ghost, he had a good feeling in a room so large there had to be something significant. The thrill of exploration filled his soul as he inched closer.

Eventually, the espeon reached an arched opening leading into the room. Using his echo beam again since it was so dark, he discovered a torch on each side of the arch. He changed into his flareon form with another burst of light, breathing a small stream of fire onto the left torch's head. Levitating it into his jaws, the flareon went on his way, emerging into the large chamber. Looking around in wonder, Malgam walked along to the center of the room. The floor here was carved and tiled, giving the room a sense of larger purpose. The walls indeed were also chiseled with countless engravings that Malgam could not understand. He went over to one of the walls close to where he came in from, curious enough to want a closer look. Unfortunately he could make nothing out of the mysterious markings, ambling down the edges of the room and keeping his eyes on the walls.

After scaling the entire room, Malgam discovered three other openings along the walls that were blocked off by huge stone slabs. The large chamber could be a dead end; he did not know how he would escape and if there really was only one way to get in. Malgam changed back into his espeon form, hoping to be able to figure out what was behind the slabs. He stood directly in front of one of them and put his forehead onto it, the red jewel touching the cool stone. He strained his facial muscles, trying to read what was beyond, but something was blocking his psychic signals. His head beginning to hurt, Malgam retracted his head and swore under his breath, pounding the boulder with a paw in frustration. He was beginning to think Xerxes legitimately trapped him in these dreadful ruins. Malgam became hot-headed just thinking about it. How he managed to get tricked by that damn zoroark was beyond him! Even worse, he still could not see any sign of a pokémon in the area.

In the midst of his irritation, Malgam suddenly made a stark realization—he had not looked up. Turning his view upwards, the espeon scanned the ceiling of the room and, to his relief, he noticed a hole that did not appear to be covered up. Putting down the torch between his jaws, he looked into it inquisitively.

"Good thing I can hover and all," he scoffed. "Wonder if this was meant to be a prison of some sort." Floating up to the hole, Malgam was shocked to notice something was emerging from the darkness at a very quick speed. Barely dodging out of the way in time, a pinkish blur sped by the espeon and landed with a resounding splat. Malgam looked down but could not see anything but the stony floor below. Not even his torch illuminated anything out of the ordinary. It was as if he imagined the whole thing. Shaking his head frantically, Malgam blinked rapidly, trying to assure himself he was not going insane. He floated back down, determined to find out what that thing was.

Doing a full circle, Malgam stayed alert, attempting to locate where that creature retreated to. He considered returning to the corridor he came from until a very peculiar, high-pitched moan sounded from behind him quietly. His spine tingling, the espeon whirled back to find something that shocked him. Another espeon stood next to his torch, floating the same way that he was. The two espeons stared at each other with a similar degree of curiosity, each movement Malgam made being imitated by the doppelganger. Malgam hovered down until his paws touched the ground and the imitator did the same. They walked up to each other, their eyes glued to each other's. Raising a paw, Malgam put his against the other's and pulled away in fright.

Malgam then had an idea. His necklace device beeping, a flash returned him to his original eevee form. The espeon stared on in fascination and then smiled. Malgam grinned a toothy grin, feeling he had won over the psychic type, but then he noticed something happening to the creature's figure. The space around the espeon began to warp and undulate and its figure appeared to be melting down. Malgam blinked and watched on in terror as the espeon's body began to mesh and fold like a large piece of pliable clay. The creature's figure then took up the likeness of an eevee, and not just any ordinary eevee. He had taken up Malgam's image, including his rainbow eyes! The only thing that was different was that the creature did not have his cape, device, or leggings.

When the transformation ended, Malgam only stared, his jaw agape in pure awe. The doppelganger giggled in excitement, entertained by Malgam's reaction. Malgam started to laugh as well, baffled at what was occurring in front of him.

"What the heck are you!?" the eevee lord asked, flabbergasted. "I've never seen another pokémon that can do such a thing!" The doppelganger just smiled and continued giggling. "You can talk right?" Malgam questioned, lifting his chin with a smug grin. "If you can copy everything I do, go on and say something." To his surprise, the creature did not say a word, looking embarrassed now. Malgam scoffed, glad to have gotten the upper hand on this annoying copycat. The eevee imitator started to frown, walking back sullenly. Malgam watched the creature carefully, wondering what it was going to do next. Sure enough, the imitator's figure began to swirl and morph once again, but this time changing into an amorphous image that Malgam did not see coming the least bit. The creature had deformed itself into a pink blob. The blob had beady eyes and a mouth, its size only half the mass of Malgam himself.

"Is this you?" Malgam asked, dumbfounded by how simplistic it appeared. The creature gestured, bending its slimy body forward as if it were bowing. "So you can transform, huh? Can you transform into anything you want, or only what's in front of you?" The slime bowed again. Malgam had heard of a creature like this, one who could manipulate its own matter to take up any shape. Surely the blob had the capability to turn into anything it could think of. It would not need a reference unless its memory was awful, and Malgam hoped it was not true to this creature.

"So," he started, his heart beating faster in anticipation, "say you were to morph into a certain fairy type."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Step Down

Sagefox and Fleur raced into the forest, Evaki the noivern having alerted them to the unceremonious release of the restless Sanctuary spirits. The duo followed the direction of the distinct moans and ghastly wails of the spirits in the distance, cutting through the thick vegetation in their path. As they continued to run, Sagefox could suddenly eye a smokey object hovering in the distance. With surprisingly quick reflexes, he side-stepped, noticing the object was rocketing towards them.

"Fleur!" he called out, and the rabbit mother leapt to the side as well, having went off of Sage's own maneuver. The blur barely missed them, almost grazing the lopunny. The two stared at the object disappearing into the dense forest for a moment before remembering their focus. As they pressed forward, Sagefox said, "This could be the worst outbreak I have ever seen." The old fox was panting, not used to this amount of exertion.

"Master, are you going to be okay?" Fleur asked, concerned about his health. The delphox laughed as he exhaled with every step.

"I will be fine, my dear," he said in between breaths. "I can feel the source. Just stay by me." Surely enough, the two eventually emerged into a large clearing where the number of ghosts were so great that their spectral aura saturated the air. The environment was tinted a malicious purple as the restless, perturbed spirits drifted and glided around the field, wailing their disturbing songs. Sage and Fleur were forced to cup their hands over their eyes, trying to locate the origin of the ghastly surge.

Sage shouted over the loud cacophony of moans, "MeiLi!" Fleur gazed over to where Sage had looked and indeed the mienshao was there atop of a small human structure. MeiLi was doing a frantic dance, trying to keep up with the specters, but they were clearly overwhelming her. To and fro did the spirits flit about her, taking turns swiping at the mienshao. Sage and Fleur pressed onward, the energy of the spirits so dense that it muddled their movement.

Eventually, MeiLi could take no more and collapsed pitifully, taking the repeated blows of the angry ghosts. Sagefox growled in a rage, Fleur never having seen him in this state. She watched with wonder as the old delphox stood tall, ignoring the force from the ghostly aura around them. His new stick shooting from the furry sleeve of his arm, he lifted both arms, a radiant, purple energy burning through the dark smog around them. Fleur was familiar with this power and felt her heart sink.

"Fleur! Aid me!" Sagefox said, the energy around him intensifying. This was a power that Sagefox told the lopunny mother only to use in a dire emergency. It was an attack that would harm the ghosts, but would also return them to the depths of the Sanctuary. Fleur knew that the delphox never wanted to hurt the spirits, but with them out and about in such great numbers, it could cause catastrophe across the lands. The spirits needed to be quelled forcibly—with them in this state, nothing MeiLi could do alone would pacify them.

The lopunny mother did not need to use this power for a long time, nor has she refreshed herself on utilizing it recently. Regardless, she knew that she had to give it her all. She stood tall like Sage did, trying to relax her muscles and focus on her inner power as the ghastly wind pelted against her body. Fleur stood as still as a statue, feeling the energy spread within her. The lopunny sensed a part of her exiting her body, connecting with the aura surrounding Sagefox. Suddenly her limbs began to move on their own, the connection with the delphox powerful enough for him to synchronize his maneuvers and controls hers at the same time. The bright purple aura engulfed Fleur as well, their combined powers searing through the ghosts and spreading panic amongst them. Eventually the radiance enveloped the agitated spirits, slowing their movements greatly. Off the corner of her eye, Fleur saw Sage beginning to squat down. His arms were in a pressing motion, his hands facing downwards. He looked like he was applying pressure towards the earth with all of his might and Fleur, of course, followed suit. She could sense a powerful tension in her muscles.

Gazing back up, the lopunny saw MeiLi summoning her own power, glowing just as they were. A trail exited the mienshao's body, the energy chaining with Sage and Fleur's. The wailing began to subside as the ghosts' bodies were seized. They appeared paralyzed as the energy engulfed them, starting to drag them all downwards. Even the dark smog started to dissipate, the trio's strength proving to be more than enough to put an end to the spectral chaos. The ghosts continued to sink downwards until they reached the earth. They did not stop there, however, as their bodies phased through the dirt and grass, a rippling forming around where their bodies met the earth, comparable to plunging into a watery surface. Sage's hands touched the ground finally, and most of the spirits had fully disappeared beneath the soil, entirely placated by the mystic power that surrounded them.

Once all the ghosts were gone, the night was silent once more. The old delphox released his energy, also releasing his control over Fleur and MeiLi. The three pokémon collapsed, breathing heavily from the laborious event they had taken part in. Sagefox especially looked exerted from the effort, and Fleur crawled over to him speedily, nudging him gently.

"Sage? Are you alright?" she asked in desperation. The delphox could only moan in response. The lopunny eased Sagefox down, having him lie on his back. His condition did not appear to be good and his breathing had become awkward and strangely light. Fleur turned her attention towards MeiLi once again, who was also trying to collect herself.

"How did this happen?" Fleur called out to her, feeling resentment beginning to swell up in her. She knew that the mienshao was in charge of making sure the spirits were to never accomplish this amount of chaos. MeiLi gazed back at the lopunny, unable to reply and simply shaking her head. The mienshao appeared utterly distraught and ashamed.

"Go on and tell them," a masculine voice sounded from behind Fleur. The lopunny whirled to see a zoroark approaching them. "It doesn't matter. We got what we came here for." Fleur's chest felt as if everything had been taken out of it. She sensed a dreadful chill as she looked back at MeiLi, who was hanging her head down in shame. "I will admit," the zoroark continued, "I did not expect you to fail. Did you not say you were powerful enough to calm the spirits on your own?"

"MeiLi!" Fleur shouted in pure anger, casting away any bearing she had left. She then saw something else in her peripherals. The lopunny turned to meet the sinister eyes of a creature she had never seen before. With shining, pale skin, a purple belly, and a long slender tail, the creature hovered into the scene, its arms folded over its breast. It had a look of sheer contempt and pride, its chin lifted up as it eyed the two weakened pokémon.

The zoroark said to this mysterious creature, "Did he come out yet?" It scoffed.

"You didn't see him? He came out with this pathetic pink blob in his grubby paws," it replied.

"That's what he came here for?"

"I don't know anymore," it said bluntly. "He seemed rather dead set on the thing being the key to this stupid form he keeps babbling about." Fleur did not understand what the two were speaking of, but guessed they may have somehow gotten into the underground ruins. The pink blob that was mentioned was not familiar to her, but the lopunny did not know of any sort of treasure that would inspire others to raid their haven. Was Sagefox keeping information about the Sanctuary from her? It has always been mysterious to her despite how long she lived there. She could not even imagine the amount of secrets that could be hidden in a place so ancient.

"What have you done?" the old delphox croaked as he attempted to lift himself. Fleur aided him, getting Sage onto his knees at least. His breathing became normal once again, though he was still evidently very weak.

"That's not something you'll have to worry about any longer," a feminine voice sounded from within the dark brush. Its odd smoothness and malevolent tone sent chills down Fleur's spine, but Sagefox's reaction was fraught with fear and shock. The old delphox could not get himself to speak. Suddenly, a dark beam shot out from within the tree line. Fleur's quick reflexes caused her to tackle Sage, shoving him out of the beam's trajectory. The beam collided with the human structure behind them, crumbling it in the midst of an explosion. MeiLi managed to hop off the structure in time, emerging out of the thick smog.

Gazing into the tree line, Fleur could see a rather curvaceous figure materialize from the darkness, ambling towards them with a long stick in their hand. The figure appeared as another delphox, her luscious coat sporting the color of the shiny variant. She was pointing her wand at the two pokémon, a sinister, purple flame sitting at the tip. A morbid, toothy grin was spread on her face, making clear her intent to inflict harm on them.

Fleur felt her insides grow cold, having an idea of who this female delphox was. She had heard many tales of her in her time spent at the haven, and Sagefox himself explained his horrific history with her. Indeed, this was the Witchfox, finally showing her face after so many seasons.

"Ingrid," Sagefox drawled, groaning as he attempted to stand. "Why have you come here?"

"Do I really need to answer that?" she said, her voice silky but full of scorn. "It's time for you to meet your end. Your soul is mine to keep." The flames at the end of her wand intensified and grew until they rocketed outwards, spreading into a searing, hungry blaze that rushed towards them. Sagefox was quick, raising his wand and grasping it with both hands. A lucid shield enveloped both him and Fleur and the flames, as powerful as they were, could not break through. The wildfire slid over the shield as if it were water.

The blaze dissipating to reveal the delphox and lopunny still standing, the Witchfox snarled in anger at the wasted attack. Lowering his stick, Sagefox adjusted his spectacles. His gaze was full of resolution and calm. Fleur was surprised at his stature, considering Witchfox was one of the very few pokémon that Sage truly feared.

"For a long time now, you and I have sent others to do our dirty work," the delphox stated. "Have you grown tired of all this?"

"What are you talking about, fool?" Witchfox questioned him with a ridiculing tone. "You think I care about these imbeciles? You believe I'm allied with them?" She cackled. "No, no, I simply took hold of the opportunity. You are correct about one thing, however." Witchfox raised her stick once more, a dark energy forming around the tip, running down it like a viscous mixture. "I've gotten impatient!" With a baneful scream, she let loose a flurry of dark spheres that flew towards the duo once again. Sagefox again summoned the spherical shield. The dark orbs collided with the shield, causing it to undulate against the pressure. It appeared like it was about to give way.

With a mighty thrust upwards, Sagefox expanded the shield with great force, disintegrating the dark spheres but losing the shield in the process. He groaned with exhaustion as Witchfox laughed.

"How much more can you take? It's no use fighting it any longer," she taunted. Fleur scowled at the female delphox, stepping in front of Sage and going into a fighting stance. She knew her power did not match the witch's, but she would not let any harm come to her master.

"Fleur, no," Sage called out weakly. "Don't put yourself between this."

"I know who you are," Fleur said to the witch, ignoring her master's plea. "As long as I'm standing, I won't let you hurt him!"

"Ah, so then you must know he deserves to perish," Witchfox cooed. "But despite this, you stand in his defense anyway. Such a loyal student you are. I would love to have you under my wing."

"Never!" the lopunny mother exclaimed, dashing towards the delphox. With a leap, Fleur stretched out her leg, attempting a high jump kick. As she fell towards the witch with stunning speed, the shiny delphox simply waved her wand and formed a sheet of darkness in front of her. Fleur fell straight into it and felt her muscles seize up painfully. She bellowed as dark tendrils squeezed around her, keeping her in place. The lopunny watched helplessly as the witch pointed her stick at Fleur's body, a psychic energy spinning around it.

Suddenly the sheet of darkness lit up brightly, evaporating under the brilliant light. Fleur's muscles recovered and she was freed from the grasp of Witchfox's attack. Witchfox herself staggered backwards in fright, giving the lopunny an opportunity to strike. Leaping forward, she brought her knee down heavily onto the delphox's head. Witchfox proceeded to take repeated blows across her body as Fleur lashed out mercilessly. After several hits, Fleur stepped back, catching her breath. Regardless of all the blows she delivered, the Witchfox was resilient, casually twisting her neck with a sickening pop and brushing off her fur dress. She smiled menacingly at Fleur, the rabbit pokémon shuddering with fear.

Another bright light formed in between them. Once it faded, Sagefox appeared between them, pointing his own wand at his long-time enemy. Witchfox did the same, and the atmosphere was unbearably thick with tension as the two delphoxes stared each other down with great intensity. Even the zoroark and the mystery pokémon watched the standoff with amusement.

After the long pause, Witchfox finally spoke. "Words cannot express how pathetic you are. After what you did, you think you can redeem yourself? You think you can make yourself a good example for all the other souls in this dump?"

"Every soul is redeemable, including yours, Ingrid," Sage replied warmly. "I thought that it was too late for me. I thought I strayed down the dark path too far and could not escape, but I found help. There is always somebody out there who can help."

Ingrid spat with contempt. "You disgust me. The way you stand there and act righteous really gets on my nerves. I won't just stand here and listen to your drivel."

"I'm sorry for what I have done to you," Sage said, Witchfox reacting with bewilderment. "I know I can't change things, but I am doing the best I can to help and comfort others."

"The past will always follow you!" Ingrid screeched. "You can never escape from it! My master's ashes will forever stain your mangy coat!" She yelled with such passion that Fleur could almost feel the sadness behind it. She was not sure what to think anymore and could only watch, her heart racing.

"I know," Sagefox said quietly. "I'm sorry, Ingrid."

"Don't speak my name!" the witch screamed as a blast of psychic energy emanated from her wand. Sagefox reacted quickly with a shield different from before. A beautiful, rainbow iridescence shrouded the bubble that formed around him, reflecting the blast at Witchfox. The female delphox careened backwards, landing on the ground hard. The blast singed her fur and covered her with a lingering smoke. Sage was taken aback from the force of the blast as well, but remained unscathed. He approached Ingrid, his wand pointed at her still. Witchfox's wand was missing. She coughed roughly while frantically crawling about, trying to find her beloved stick. When she saw Sage walking to her, she froze on the spot. On her knees, she snarled at Sage, grinding her teeth and glaring at him with hatred.

"As long as I live, you will not rest," Sage said, his tone unchanging. "But I have an obligation to help my fellow pokémon. I will not give up on them until this old body does." A warm light began to glow at the end of his stick. "Anyone who wishes to tear me or my haven down must be stopped." Witchfox stared at the growing light, grinning maniacally.

As the radiance continued to expand, Sagefox's eyes glossed over, the light masking his vision. He felt his head throbbing as his attention began to shift. The light waned to reveal a sight that made his heart skip a beat. In front of him was a human, a female. Her back was turned to him, and the two of them were inside of a large day care facility—this was the same place where Sagefox murdered Ingrid's trainer. His stick was pointed directly at her. The next thing he noticed was that time had stopped. The old fox's eyes rolled across the scene. He saw many different human faces, and some were staring right at him with utter terror. The delphox's heart sank heavily. This was not him anymore; the Sage of the past was no more. The memories might haunt him for the rest of his life, but he himself had changed for the better.

The scene crumbled away, revealing reality once again. He was in the dark forest again, and in the trainer's place was Ingrid, who was still staring at Sage, awaiting her end with a toothy grin. Sagefox choked up, his throat feeling like it was tightening. He lowered his stick and Witchfox's face gradually sunk with disappointment. His breath was raspy as a tear fell down his cheek.

"I will not hurt you anymore, Ingrid," he stated firmly. Witchfox's eyes then grew wide, her jaw slightly ajar as she was fixated on something behind Sagefox. The old delphox did not dare turn back, sensing a malevolent aura. He grasped onto his stick as hard as he could, one last tear falling down. Fleur called out his name, but a deafening burst interrupted her. A blinding psychic blast escaped the outstretched hand of the mystery pokémon, who hovered behind Sagefox. There was no time to react. The energy had shot straight through Sagefox's chest, searing his torso severely. It was deathly quiet as the old delphox looked down at his scorched body in pure shock, unable to make a sound. Silently, Sagefox leaned and fell to the ground lifelessly.

Fleur wailed in despair as she charged forward. She was not the only one, as MeiLi jumped into the action as well, making a mad dash for the emotionless mewtwo. As the mienshao engaged in combat with the creature, Fleur crumpled over Sage's body, frantically blubbering as she attempted to heal his mortal wound. Her healing powers had not developed entirely well, but regardless, she tried her best to mend him.

Ingrid was seated back, staring at the scene in complete breathlessness. She stared at the smoking body of Sagefox not with a smile, but with a most dreadful scowl. This is not how it should have gone. She was prepared for him to fall into her trap. Everything could have turned out well for her.

"He was mine to kill!" she bellowed, the witch's eyes glowing with a fiery rage. As Fleur continued trying to desperately keep the old fox alive, Witchfox darted forward, her target now the mystery pokémon that took her opportunity away. She cast forth a tendril of psychic power that collided with MeiLi, sending the mienshao flying from the fight. Purple flames engulfing her claws, Witchfox started to swipe at the mewtwo with blind fury. The mewtwo dodged each attack effortlessly, knocking back the witch with her large tail. The creature grinned in amusement as Ingrid kept coming back despite how fruitless her attacks were. The witch put her hands together, forming a mixture of compressed flames and psychic energy. With a frenzied scream, she let loose a massive blast that could incinerate any pokémon. Unfortunately for the witch, the mewtwo made a joke of it, an invisible, spherical shield surrounding her and deflecting the raging fire with ease.

She floated towards the delphox casually, ignoring the attack as if nothing had happened. With an arm outstretched, the mystery pokémon grasped Witchfox's neck tightly, lifting her off the ground. Gagging, the witch kicked wildly, helpless against the mewtwo's sheer strength. Ingrid then started to cackle maniacally, grabbing the mewtwo's outstretched arm with both of her claws. Her claws then became consumed with purple flames, which crackled and sizzled noisily. Despite this, the mewtwo remained unaffected, her bland expression unchanging.

As the witch continued to hang there, the mewtwo suddenly looked off to the side, appearing as though she noticed something. She put her other hand to her skull, her bulbous fingertips massaging the temple. She closed her eyes for several seconds, then reopened them.

With a scoff, she said, "So you brought it back, then. Good, I'm getting tired of this anyways." The mystery pokémon tossed Ingrid aside like a ragdoll. She gave Fleur and Sagefox one last look, the lopunny glaring at her in fiery resentment. A little smile formed on the mewtwo's face and she said nothing more. In the blink of an eye, she was gone, the air around her rippling amidst her teleportation. The zoroark had disappeared as well, almost melting with the shadows of the forest.

The chaos had not yet been extinguished. Ingrid got up quickly, still seething with rage. She set her sights for the downed Sagefox.

"Leave the soul!" she commanded, outstretching an arm towards him that became clouded with a disturbing, black aura. Fleur stood in front of Sage, determined to keep the witch away. Suddenly, another pokémon had appeared beside Fleur, its blue skin shining brilliantly against the moonlight—it was the vaporeon!

The witch did not slow her pace, the energy intensifying and spreading. She hissed as she prepared her attack, rearing back. Without a moment's hesitation, the vaporeon sucked in a great amount of air, and then released a powerful stream of water, getting a direct hit on Witchfox. The force of the water was so great that it lifted her off her feet. She was sent spiralling in the air over the trees, screeching in anguish as she flew far, far away from the clearing. Witchfox was out of sight within seconds, not another sound coming out of her.

Everything was quiet now as the pokémon of the Sanctuary begun to gather around a most somber scene. Fleur was running out of energy herself, and she could barely keep Sagefox breathing. The old delphox struggled to take in air, and he appeared delusional, his eyes rolling slowly. He was having difficulty focusing and could hardly move a muscle.

Words slowly came out of his muzzle, "Fleur? Fleur, is that you?" The lopunny gently grasped the back of his head, lifting it up so that her face was closer to view.

"I'm here, master," she said, voice choked. More and more pokémon had arrived in the clearing, word having spread quickly. Even Sol and Hildegard made an appearance, gathering with everybody else to see what had occurred. MeiLi had recovered but kept her distance.

"Fleur." The delphox said her name dreamily, as if he was not in a sober state of mind. "I'm so proud of you." Fleur could do nothing but nod and attempt to sniff back the inevitable tears. "You've done so much. I can pass away with hope."

"Master, what do you mean?" she asked.

"You remember our talk," he breathed out. Fleur thought back to when Sage had approached her about the next leader of the Sanctuary. The delphox wished for his dream of a haven for ailing pokémon to continue even without him there. The foundation he created was too great to simply cast aside, and Fleur expressed she was more than willing to become the head of his shelter. With everything she has went through, Sagefox knew that she was ready to take up the responsibility.

Fleur nodded vigorously to Sagefox. "Yes, yes, I remember. There has to be another leader." Tears were streaming down her face. "I will do that for you, Sage. I promise the Sanctuary will live on. I will work hard to keep it going!" Nothing more needed to be said, as their talk in the past was lengthy. Sagefox himself attempted a smile, nodding weakly in acknowledgment.

"Thank you," he said. Sage's eyes rolled to the side, as if he were looking for something. "Is...MeiLi there?" Fleur gazed back over to the mienshao, whose ears shot up. MeiLi's eyes widened at the mere mentioning of her name. The lopunny was unsure but knew that time was running out. She beckoned the mienshao over to them and she complied with haste, looming over the delphox.

"Master," the mienshao said, her lips quivering. "I'm so sorry."

"MeiLi," Sagefox muttered, coughing a couple of times. "I am the one who is sorry." Both Fleur and MeiLi were taken aback by this statement, gazing at each other in bewilderment.

"I know that you've...yearned for my attention. You worked so hard to prove yourself to me. I appreciate everything that you have done for me, and for my Sanctuary. Thank you, MeiLi." The mienshao could not hold back her tears. She knew she did not deserve his words, but he gave them anyway. Fleur might have overpassed her, but to have been acknowledged in this moment tore her heart to pieces.

Next, Sagefox called for, "Sol." Fleur looked behind her to see that Sol had already been approaching. The grass type looked utterly appalled.

"Sage, what happened?" he said in awe.

"Sol, I know we've been through hard times," Sage began, "and I don't expect you to continue your training. That should be up to you." Sol bowed his head, looking pensive. Sage coughed multiple times before proceeding, "But may I ask you one thing?" To Fleur's surprise, Sol kneeled down, inching closer to Sagefox. The delphox then said, "Please take care of my pupil. She will be…a leader now." His breathing began to slow. Sol took one of the old fox's claws, holding it with his own. Sol tried to speak but could not say anything. He simply nodded, a look of tenacity on his face.

Sagefox chuckled one last time, his eyes closing. "Thank you, everyone," he said quietly.

* * *

Sage was buried amidst a flower field—this field was a project he and Marmalade had worked on for a long time now. It was nearby the temple where the delphox mostly resided in. After he had been buried, almost every resident of the haven came to pay their respects. Fleur, her children, Marmalade, and Sol had stayed at the flower fields for the entirety of the following day, watching over his resting place. Even Puru and Bernard stopped by to visit the site and say their goodbyes. One of the few who had not visited was Hildegard. Fleur knew that she had no reason to stop by, but still felt agitated that she did not bother. To her it appeared as if the lucario still held disdain for him until his very end and purposefully avoided the area.

Fleur was the leader of the Sanctuary now, but she did not consider herself one just yet. With how depressed she felt after the incident, she could not get herself to uphold the responsibility and start carrying out her duties. She felt like an absolute failure, not being able to get over her emotions, especially after the grueling test she was put through not long ago. Sagefox meant a lot to her and guided her to overcome the demons of her past. Now that he was gone, the lopunny felt heavily burdened and scared, not knowing what to do. Marmalade had been great support for her, but she needed more time to pick herself back up.

* * *

When night fell over the haven once more, Fleur returned to her home. She walked down the corridor, feeling tired both physically and emotionally. Her children were already put to rest. They had been impacted by Sagefox's death as well, but were still able to sleep soundly, much to Fleur's relief. Unfortunately, she could not say the same about herself. As tired as she was, the fear and sadness welling up in her heart was too much. Her mind was always racing, confusion overtaking her, and thus the lopunny mother could not sleep well.

Fleur went to her room and noticed a couple of silky garments lying on her bed. There was also a medium-sized purple orb that sat next to them. These items were considered treasures to Sagefox. He mentioned they most likely belonged to one of the humans way back when their civilization still existed. The orb had a string attached to it, circling around to the other side to make it a necklace. Sagefox, as much as he adored these items, wanted Fleur to have them. He gave them to her as a symbol of her rebirth and rise to her leadership position.

The lopunny took the orb, holding it out on her palm and staring at it for a while. She then turned her gaze towards the night sky, visible through her window. The stars were shining brightly, as if they were encouraging her. Walking back over to the bed, Fleur put on the garments, one over her shoulders and the other around her waist. As she put these on, she already began to feel a warmth forming inside of her. The lopunny's spirit was rekindled as she understood the scope of her responsibility and position. Others would be looking up to her now. She had to be strong for them. She had to be strong for Sagefox.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Her Resolution

Fleur woke up the next morning feeling fully rested. It was a relief after the previous night. Even if she got a full night's rest, the remembrance of her current situation had torn down the confidence she summoned up last night. She sat on her bed, staring into nothingness. The rabbit pokémon felt a coldness both inside and out, her mouth becoming dry. Was that all not just a horrible nightmare? Was she really the new leader of the entire Sanctuary? She did not know where to start. She simply wished she could just lie in bed for another few hours in the same manner as a certain lucario. The chirping of bird pokémon outside told her the day had begun. It was no use lying around anymore.

The lopunny noticed the chirping was getting slightly louder and then heard a rustling of wings. She gazed up at her window to see a pidgey perched on the sill. The bird pokémon looked at the lopunny inquisitively, bobbing and turning its head.

It said to her, "Are you feeling okay, Miss Fleur?" The kindly question soothed the lopunny. She smiled back at the pidgey and nodded.

"I slept just fine, thank you," she responded warmly. With that, the pidgey lit up. It chirped loudly, causing an unpleasant ringing sensation in Fleur's ears. Before she knew it, more bird pokémon showed up. Two tailows fluttered in, carrying a basket in their talons. They hovered over to Fleur and dropped the basket on her lap. The two birds then bowed as they flittered in mid-air. They then took their leave back outside the window, though the pidgey stayed. The pidgey bobbed its head in a sort of gesture.

"Open! Open, please!" it said excitedly. Fleur looked down at the basket for a while, then reluctantly lifted the wooden cover. What was inside warmed the lopunny's heart: there were plentiful and a great variety of food items sitting inside the basket. Fruits shone brilliantly with a clean and washed look to them, sitting on a diverse set of scrumptious leaves. There were also medium-sized pieces of bread around the edges. It was a very nice display that forced a smile on Fleur's face. She looked back up at the pidgey, who was eager to hear what she had to say.

"Thank you so much," she said, tearing up. The pidgey unfurled a wing, placed it across its chest, then bowed.

"Pleasure to serve, Miss Fleur!" it chirped, turning and flying away. Fleur dined on the food ravenously, just now realizing how hungry she was. She did not remember the last time she had a meal, especially one of this size. It was quite heavenly, and as she ate, she felt her energy returning to her, as well as her confidence. Even without Sagefox there, she now understood that she had everyone in the Sanctuary behind her. She would help them, and they would help her in return.

With her stomach full, Fleur stood up from her bed, carrying the basket with her. She thought of what she could do to start off the day. A quick survey of the whole area would be good—it would give the lopunny a clear idea of what everyone's condition was and how she could divide her attention throughout the day. Before she could leave her room, she noticed a shadow approaching her doorway. Fleur carefully set down the basket and peeked around the corner to see Sol walking down the corridor. The grass type noticed her and gave a quick bow of his head. After her previous talks with him, Fleur found it strange, but wonderful to see him out and about. It was certainly something she would have to get used to, and she hoped that would remain the case.

Fleur walked out into the corridor and met with the grovyle. He leaned up against the wall with his shoulder and smiled timidly.

"Did you enjoy the breakfast?" he asked quietly. Fleur nodded with a smile.

"I did, thank you," she replied. Sol shuffled his feet against the cold, stone floor. He chuckled.

"We wanted to let you know that we were here for you. We'll all support each other," he explained.

"I understand. I really appreciate that," Fleur said.

"You think you'll be fine?"

"I…" Fleur could have responded positively, but the break caused a cold chill in her. Her hesitance carried alarming connotations that she hoped she could keep hidden. Sol himself looked concerned now. The lizard pokémon sighed and gazed down sadly.

"I know he meant a lot to you," he said, lowering his voice.

"How did you feel?" Fleur asked him. Sol looked uncomfortable. "I know you had a falling out. But it looks like you've changed. You changed for the better."

"It's disgusting," Sol hissed, pushing himself off the wall and pacing with his back turned.

"What do you mean?"

"How I treated him. I can't believe myself," his voice sounded as if he were choking up. "After everything we went through, I treated him like dirt. And it isn't just that." He crossed his arms, pausing for a while before speaking again. "It took his death...for me to see." He sniffed, grunting as he wept in near silence. Fleur walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder for comfort. "I just can't believe myself."

"It's no use dwelling on it, Sol," Fleur said warmly. "After all, you're already doing something about it, right?" Sol sniffed again, turned his head slightly to see the lopunny.

"I wish it was enough."

"We all have regrets," Fleur started, "but letting the past keep up with us will just bog everything down. There's always an opportunity to start anew." Sol scoffed, but Fleur could tell he was not trying to be rude about it.

"Look at you," he said while wiping his eyes, "Already living up to the position." Fleur backed off slightly, sighing.

"I don't know about that," she said. Sol turned to face her.

"Like I said, we'll all support each other," he assured her. "I think the best thing you can do to start off is perhaps to hold a short ceremony. Let everyone know." Fleur looked up at him, feeling the familiar pang of nervousness fill her breast. She overcame this, however, and nodded to Sol. There was no backing out at this point.

"You're right," she said firmly. They needed to know, and to show her face in these times of sorrow would help lift everyone's spirits. Fleur felt her normal self coming back, and a bit more. The idea of everyone lending a helping hand brought her great joy. Perhaps this would not be as difficult as she thought. Regardless if it was, Fleur felt prepared to take on the challenges the following seasons would bring.

With the help of Sol and Puru, Fleur managed to gather up who she thought was everybody at the glade, which was apparently the most popular area in the entirety of the Sanctuary lands. Fleur was surprised at how quickly the azumarill had adapted to his new environment. He and Sol appeared to be inseparable, and she believed that was one of the things that caused the grass type to become more active.

* * *

Everyone had congregated impressively fast, almost as if they had expected an event like this to occur soon. Despite how long Fleur had dwelled in the haven, she was not entirely familiar with the habits and routines of the residents. Their speediness in their arrival had encouraged the lopunny even further, showing her that they were eager to meet and hear their new leader. She kept her head held high as more pokémon flocked around the site. The one pokémon that Fleur could easily tell was not among the crowd was Hildegard. Perhaps the lucario had finally left the Sanctuary after accomplishing her duties as gardener for a time. She then noticed MeiLi was also nowhere to be found. The lopunny did not pay much mind to it, trying to focus on what she would say to all these pokémon around her. There was not even much clamor to be heard, as everyone had tried to stay quiet in anticipation of her words.

Once the numbers began to stabilize and everyone settled down, Fleur knew that it would be time to speak shortly. Her heart was racing as she looked around at all the bright eyes focused on her. Sol had walked up to her side, giving her a trusting nod. His presence brought the lopunny some comfort.

Taking in a deep breath, she spoke. "Everyone, I am very honored to be standing in front of you all today." All the muttering and commotion quieted down as everyone stopped to listen. "The last few days have been...very tough for all of us." Fleur put both hands on her breast. She looked down at the earth sadly, feeling the pang of sorrow returning. "Our former leader, Sagefox, has passed away. He did so much for us all and built a wonderful foundation." She could tell the atmosphere was becoming somber. Most of the pokémon were bowing their heads, looking like they were reminiscing in silence out of respect. "That foundation will live on under my stead. The haven will continue to exist." Her assuring words had quite an effect, as a lot of the pokémon now looked up at her in inspiration. "I have trained long and hard under Sage to carry out this position. He believed in me to carry on his legacy, and that is what I will do. It is the best I can do to repay him for what he has done for me. I was horribly lost and constantly burdened by past events. He helped me overcome this." Fleur began to tear up. She paused and sniffed for a brief moment before continuing. "And I cannot thank him enough. That is why I'm here now, standing before you all, the residents of the Sanctuary."

Pokémon were cheering for Fleur—it started off quietly, but gradually loudened as more partook in the whoops and applause. Fleur felt a warmth fill her up and puffed out her chest, inspired by the sudden ovation. Once it calmed down, she continued, a tear falling down her cheek. "Thank you all so much for this opportunity. I promise you all I will do the best I can, and I am so thankful that you are all prepared to support me as well. We will all help each other!" Another applause rose up, louder than before. Pokémon were leaping joyfully and chattering with each other excitedly. The celebration was almost overwhelming for the lopunny mother. All the happiness in the wake of sorrow sparked her spirit in ways she could not describe. She gazed over at Sol and he nodded to her in approval, a smile on his face.

* * *

The next few hours were busy hours indeed. Fleur had taken it upon herself to become acquainted with all of the residents of the haven. Sol and Marmalade helped in this regard, showing Fleur the many different zones and buildings of the Sanctuary, and revealing to her the different crops they had tended to. The Sanctuary had rules, but not too many to the degree where others would not consider it a free place overall. One of the most important rules of all was that nobody could hunt or hurt each other in any way while on Sanctuary grounds. This was one of the main reasons effort was put into tending crops. They were bountiful with different fruits and berries, and were more than enough to feed all the dwellers of the haven. The crops ruined by Hildegard and Bernard were finally shaped back up to good condition.

After the busy work of familiarizing herself more with the area was finished, Fleur had a couple missions she had on her mind for the entire time. The sun had started to set and she met with Sol outside of Sagefox's temple. The grass type was lounging on the stairs, standing up when he caught sight of the lopunny approaching.

"You look tired," he said humorously, Fleur chuckling back at the remark.

"Not done just yet," she assured him.

"Oh? What's going on?"

"I...have somebody I need to speak to." Fleur having told Sol what happened on the night Sage passed away, the grovyle had a good idea of what she was planning. He scratched his chin with a claw, tilting his head.

"Hmm, I see. I can't say I've seen her all day," Sol replied, deep in thought. "I haven't seen either of them, to be honest."

"I want to speak to MeiLi first," Fleur stated firmly, folding her arms. "I need to deal with her."

"Got it," Sol said, expecting this. "I think the fastest way to track her down is with help from a certain noivern." Fleur nodded in agreement. The duo went out to Evaki's perch, which was a single tree in a clearing just eastwards of the temple. This was the noivern's favorite place to lounge, and Fleur could almost always count on her being there, especially at this time when activity was low. Fleur and Sol explained their situation to Evaki and she, while comfortable where she was, reluctantly obliged to do a search around the Sanctuary grounds. She took off rather clumsily, hitting the forest canopy as she flew into the sky.

The duo tried to keep up with the noivern as she conducted her search. Evaki took them across half of the distance of the haven's perimeters before she noticed something. She started to screech and chirp, alerting the duo to what she had seen. She pointed her body towards the direction of it. Fleur and Sol raced to get there before she could possibly get away, if MeiLi had any motivation to do so. The fact that the mienshao was so close to the borderlines gave Fleur this impression.

Fleur and Sol spotted MeiLi hunched down over a hill. The mienshao was alarmed to see them and started to sprint away. Sol acted quickly and shot out two vines from his claws. They were fast enough to wrap around the runaway mienshao, tightening around her body like a constricting arbok. The grovyle reeled her back in with ease, MeiLi wriggling helplessly as she was dragged against the ground. Sol then lifted her up with his vines, suspending her in midair as Fleur approached her. MeiLi looked at Fleur in utter fear, trying to turn her gaze away from the lopunny.

"So you decided to stick around," Fleur said to her, the rabbit pokémon's tone quite stern. The mienshao could not respond. Fleur put her hands on her hips, huffing in annoyance. "You can't even say anything to me?"

"There is nothing to say," MeiLi said quietly, still not giving the lopunny eye contact.

"Of course there is. I'm certain you have a lot to say." Fleur stepped forth, closing the gap between them until she was right in front of her. MeiLi looked even more uncomfortable. "Do you not realize what you caused?"

"I know what I caused," MeiLi hissed. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I thought I was strong enough."

"Strong enough for what?" Fleur questioned. MeiLi hesitated before continuing, her pride crumbling.

"I couldn't pacify the spirits. I thought that all my training would have paid off, but the outbreak was far worse than I imagined."

"It was the first time I've seen an outbreak of that scale," Fleur mentioned. "How were all those spirits released?"

"I don't know," MeiLi said bluntly.

"It wouldn't help you to lie," Fleur pointed out with a sigh.

"It's the truth. I did not coordinate their release. It was...somebody else."

"That pink-skinned creature?" the lopunny asked with an inflection, recalling her master's murder.

"No, not her," the mienshao said. She gulped and then said, "The zoroark." Fleur had to think for a quick moment before remembering the cloaked creature.

"Who was it?" Fleur asked, her tone filled with a contained animosity. The mienshao was reluctant but revealed the information.

"Xerxes. That's his name."

"Does he have a home nearby?"

"He's...with some others. They're very powerful."

"I don't care how powerful they are," the lopunny mother stated. "Tell me where they're hiding." Sol shook MeiLi, the mienshao gasping in fright.

"Those human structures out North!" she exclaimed. "You know them, right?"

"Not the ones within the haven I'm assuming."

"No, the more modern ones. The ones made of steel," MeiLi clarified. Fleur stepped back and looked down, thinking about the last time she observed these structures. Painting an image in her head, she gazed up at the sky, pinpointing the direction of the sun. MeiLi struggled in Sol's tight grip. "Let me go!" Fleur looked back at the mienshao with chagrin. "I gave you everything! What else do you want from me? I'm already suffering." Fleur suddenly felt a pang of sadness. At first she was greatly upset at MeiLi for her act of treason, but the lopunny could see her emotional anguish. There may have been things she did not foresee about her zoroark comrade and simply focused on impressing Sagefox at the time.

The lopunny gave Sol a slow nod and the grovyle dropped MeiLi, the mienshao scrambling backwards. There was a long pause as they stared at each other.

"You're the leader of this place now," MeiLi stated, grasping her chest. "Do you want me to leave?" The question had Fleur looking down at MeiLi in pity. The mienshao did a terrible thing, but to cast her out of her home was too cruel a fate in the lopunny's mind; however, if she were to keep the mienshao around, who is to say another tragedy could occur. She might have learned her lesson, regardless, and Fleur was more than willing to offer a second chance.

"No," the lopunny said, which caused MeiLi's watery eyes to widen. "You can stay. Regardless if what you did was treacherous...I'm sure Sagefox would have forgiven you." The mienshao looked to the earth, sniffing as she teared up.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness," MeiLi said, choked from her tears. "But I thank you, Fleur." Off the corner of her eye, Fleur could see Sol turning his back to the scene.

"Know that I'll be keeping an eye on you," the lopunny stated, to which MeiLi nodded. With that, the mienshao left, turning once to gaze at Fleur as she disappeared into the forest. After another brief pause, Fleur circled Sol to meet his eyes.

"How was that?" she asked him quietly. He smiled and shook his head.

"Just like him," he told her, to which the lopunny blushed. "But you meant it?"

"I did," she said with an assuring nod. They could hear a heavy flapping and looked upwards to see Evaki descending from the sky. The noivern gracefully landed next to the two pokémon, looking at them inquisitively.

"What else did you have on your list?" Sol asked Fleur, giving Evaki a passing glance. Fleur crossed her arms, shutting her eyes to think. "You wanted to know where that zoroark dwelled, yes?" Fleur hummed in confirmation. "You want to strike back, don't you?"

"Sol, listen," Fleur started, giving him a determined look, "if we let them stick around, who knows what else they will do? The structure MeiLi mentioned is closer than you think. They could be after something, and we have to stop them before they do more harm." Sol stared for a moment, then nodded.

"I agree," he said. "From what I heard they seem rather dangerous."

"They're very dangerous," Fleur said. "The more reason we cannot sit idly by." Sol looked nervous, scratching the back of his neck.

"It won't just be us two, will it?"

"Of course not," Fleur stated. "I have a couple in mind. I've seen your friend training." She said this in a playful manner and Sol chuckled.

"He's really into that. He told me that he has tried to prove himself almost his entire life."

"Prove himself?"

Sol nodded. "Puru was rejected from the royal guard in the place he's from. He told me he ran away and they were chasing him down for days." Fleur eyes widened with intrigue.

"I don't suppose he wants to go back anytime soon?"

"I'm not sure. He never talked about it," Sol explained. "Just by observing him when he talks about it, though, I could see something in his look. I'm sure he longs for it when he becomes stronger, but then again there's the issue of facing the music."

"Right." Puru was practically wanted for treason. Returning to his homeplace would be very difficult, and Fleur had no idea of the consequences he were to face. She was sad at the thought of him never being able to go back. What if he had loved ones still there? "Well," Fleur started, snapping out of her trance, "it's him and Hildegard who I planned on joining with."

"Hildegard? Is that the lucario?" Sol asked curiously. He then huffed, appearing unapproving. "I don't trust her."

"I don't either, but," Fleur swept her feet lightly, sighing, "she is incredibly strong. A lot of the creatures here are hurt or troubled. Hildegard is a fighter through and through. She would be invaluable to have on our team."

"How do you suppose we'll even get her to join us?"

"That's a good question," Fleur said, resting her chin on her hand thoughtfully. "But I'll think of something as I talk to her."

* * *

Fleur and Sol separated, the grovyle meaning to locate Puru and meet Fleur by the lake. Meanwhile, Fleur was going to locate Hildegard. The question Sol introduced to her not too long ago lingered in her mind. Hildegard was stubborn, and would not want to join with anyone, but the lopunny had to be stubborn herself. The lucario was incredibly powerful, and she would give them great leverage in the fight against those evil pokémon.

The lopunny, however, did not know where to start when it came to hunting down the lucario. Hildegard was not easy to find, as she wandered around the Sanctuary quite a bit, disappearing for a while before reappearing at random. The fact that she was still in the haven grounds made the lopunny suspicious. Hildegard did not seem to have any reason to stick around, and she always looked like she was searching for something. Fleur could see why Sol did not trust her at all, but the lopunny could not help but feel the lucario had truly good intentions buried deep inside.

After what seemed like a good half-an-hour, Fleur went back to the clearing where the incident occurred. She tried to avoid this area, as it brought back the horrid memory vividly. Sure enough, the lucario was actually present in the site, skulking around. The lopunny approached her as quietly as she could while the lucario's back was still turned to her. Hildegard, however, noticed her, as she now stood perfectly still. Slowly, the lucario turned her head so that a single eye looked into Fleur's. The lopunny mother was afraid she would scurry off, though this would also make the lucario a whole lot more suspicious than usual. Hildegard stood her ground, waiting for Fleur to act.

Shockingly enough, she was the first to speak this time. "Congratulations on your advancement." The way she said this sounded awfully sarcastic, and it got underneath Fleur's skin. The lopunny brushed it off and approached Hilde casually, the tension being relieved.

"Thank you," she said as the lucario turned around fully to face her. "I'm honestly surprised you're still walking about the haven."

"Why's that?" Hildegard questioned.

"Do you like it here?"

"I wouldn't say that," the lucario spat. "It's better than sleeping in some pathetic burrow." The statement sparked Fleur's curiosity.

"Where did you sleep back when you were in the city?" The question seemed to startle the lucario, but she tried to keep her composure. She looked off in the distance, as if imagining something.

Closing her eyes, she answered, "A nice, warm bed. Much better than the ones here. What, you think we lay on the floor like all the rest of you?" Fleur breathed out loudly in frustration.

"I wish you would be more respectful. We are doing the best we can." Hildegard dropped it there, crossing her arms and huffing bluntly.

"You look like you want something from me," the lucario said. The lopunny nodded. She explained her plan to Hildegard the same way she did to Sol, filling her in on the location of the evil-doers as well as the creatures that made up the gang. The entire time she spoke of her plan, the lucario did not move a single facial muscle, though the fact that her attention did not waver gave the lopunny a little hope at least.

Fleur closed out with, "If they are allowed to roam around, who knows what they will do to us in the future?" Hildegard looked off to the side, appearing pensive.

"This human structure you say they're in—I've heard of it before," she stated. Fleur's eyes widened.

"Where? When?"

"That lycanroc that worked with me, he talked about it, but briefly." Fleur was amused at the thought of the two pokémon chattering while working in the crops, not thinking the lucario would do idle chatter with anyone. Hildegard noticed a small smirk form on Fleur's face. "Something funny?" Fleur waved her hand dismissively.

"No, no, continue!" she said, softly biting her tongue.

A scowl on the lucario's face, she continued. "I brought him up because he may know a good way to get in."

"Do you want to join us?" Fleur said, awestruck.

"Don't jump to conclusions," Hildegard snarled.

"Right, right, I apologize."

"Anyway, I recommend talking to him. Just leave me alone," the lucario said harshly, turning her tail and walking away without another word. The lopunny mother's heart sunk. Right at the start when she spoke with Hilde, truthfully she had not a clue how to appeal to the lucario. Sighing sadly, she turned and left, heading to the stone cells.

Arriving there, she saw Bernard lounging inside of his cell. Not long before the incident, Sagefox had allowed the rock type to roam around when the sun was visible in the sky. The lycanroc had taken a liking to his little cell and treated it as a shelter. At night time they had continued to observe him in his dangerous midnight form, the cell door strong enough to keep him at bay. They were unable to get a single intelligent remark from the creature, no insight on why he behaved the way he did. It was truly an odd phenomenon, but Bernard was incredibly thankful they let him stay regardless.

As she approached the lycanroc, he noticed her and lifted his head. He appeared puzzled for a moment, then smiled in greeting to her.

"How's the whole leader duty going?" he asked, sounding a bit anxious.

"It's going rather well, thank you," Fleur answered warmly, putting him at ease. "Bernard, I wanted to talk to you about your...former friends." The last two words clearly made him nervous once again. The lycanroc looked around as if thinking someone was watching him.

"Wh-What about them?" Fleur felt sorry for the rock type. Just by his attitude she knew he did not want anything to do with them from the start—he probably only wanted to use their base as a form of shelter.

"Were you there when they attacked?" she asked. Bernard shuffled nervously, unable to make eye contact.

"No, but I do know what happened."

"All I need is your guidance. You've lived with them for a time, yes? Perhaps you know of a good way to advance on them."

"Advance?" the rock type asked, now looking outright fearful. "Wait, you want to do what!?" Fleur made it brief, telling him her plan to confront the malicious creatures. "Y-You can't! Please don't!" Bernard's plea caught Fleur off guard, the lopunny unable to respond. "Do you know how powerful those guys are? They could annihilate you in a second! They aren't just some thugs!" Fleur's gaze became hard, showing she was resolute despite Bernard's warning. The lycanroc closed his muzzle and shuffled back slightly.

"I know they aren't, and I know full well how powerful they are. That is why I must do something," Fleur said with a very rigid tone. She felt like she had said this more times than she actually has by now. After some reluctant, quiet pauses, he proceeded to reveal to Fleur that there was no secret entrance—the building was decrepit enough as is, though the more "important" rooms were still greatly fortified and still whole. The eevee that he claimed was their leader took shelter in one of these rooms. Bernard explained the door to his room was coded with a human device and revealed to Fleur the four-digit code. Although she had no idea what kind of device he was talking about, she tried to retain the information.

* * *

With all the walking around Fleur had done, the lopunny felt heavily tempted to lie down and have a nap with the warm sun's rays pouring down on her. She knew better, however, and had to strike as quickly as she could. With the information she got from Bernard, Fleur was disappointed that there was no secretive way to infiltrate the building, but then again she knew the confrontation would most likely end up too noisy for them to slip out without attracting attention. Simply walking into the structure was their only strategy in that regard, for now at least.

Fleur met up with Sol and Puru by the lake, delivering the bad news about Hildegard's rejection.

"I suppose it's just us three then," Sol stated, sighing. "If these creatures are as dangerous as we think, what can we do against them?"

"At first I wanted to simply assault their base," Fleur mentioned with a worried tone. "But with Hildegard not with us, I'm not sure what we can do. We may have to drop the aggressive approach and possibly reason with them."

"Reason?" Sol asked, flabbergasted. "Are you sure that's even worthwhile?"

"No, in fact, one of them is pure evil," Fleur shuddered, thinking about the pink-skinned creature that murdered her master. "I could see it. I could sense it."

"Maybe we should grab one of the guys lower down the food chain and hold him to motivate a negotiation," Puru piped up, surprising both Sol and Fleur. The two pokémon looked at each other in confusion.

"That might be a decent idea," Fleur said, trying to sound sincere. "Perhaps trying to talk with them without any leverage would be foolish." With that, the three could not think of any other plans. Fleur almost could not believe she had initiated this. She had endured much physical training, but what could she hope to do against creatures as powerful as them? The lopunny did not understand the extent of either Sol or Puru's strength. Sol had gone through a lengthy training regimen with Sagefox, but he had remained lethargic for many seasons. Puru was a guard pokémon back when he was still residing in the water kingdom. They all had the capabilities for battle, but what if they were not strong enough?

Fleur no longer wished to waste anymore time. The trio marched their way towards the structure that made up the malicious pokémons' hideout. Just as Sol mentioned before, they were stationed up North, and with only several minutes of walking, Fleur thought she could see a glimpse of it through the forest canopy. It was seated on a hill which was bare on one side. The structure stood out radiantly, its steel walls shining like a beacon. Glancing at it from a distance, the lopunny could not see any activity going on around it.

She pointed it out to her two companions. Puru did not seem particularly excited about the bind that he was tied into and Fleur did not blame him. Puru had gotten used to life in the Sanctuary, having developed more respect for Sagefox and her and actually lending a hand around the haven. He and Sol stuck together like a magneton, always performing tasks with each other whenever possible. Surprisingly enough, Fleur had also spotted them training together one time. Despite all this, he appeared anxious, not knowing what he was getting himself into—none of them truly did.

When they finally reached the foot of the hill, the trio stared up into the radiant building. Catching sight of a tree nearby, Fleur directed her team behind it, wanting to observe the building longer in case one of their foes were to exit it. After several minutes, Fleur thought she could eye the front doors sliding open. Behind the doors was the zoroark Xerxes, who looked especially annoyed. Fleur and company laid low behind the large tree, waiting for a moment to strike. Xerxes stepped outside, stopping just by the steep slope of the hill. The zoroark stood there for quite some time, looking around as if scanning the area.

"Yo, you see somethin'?" Puru whispered with a harsh tone. Both he and Sol were still hunkered down behind the tree and surrounding shrub with only Fleur peeking around it to see what was occurring. Fleur shushed them as Xerxes finally started to amble down the hill carefully, keeping his eye on the ground to make sure he was not about to trip. Fleur whirled back behind cover, using her great hearing to listen as the zoroark's footsteps sounded nearer and nearer. The lopunny gestured to the two to stay low and not make a sound. She prepared herself as the zoroark inched closer.

Judging his distance from the sounds of his footsteps alone, Fleur emerged out of cover with astonishing quietness, leaping with a knee out. She collided with Xerxes, hitting him square in the side of the head. The zoroark could not respond fast enough, succumbing to the powerful blow and blacking out instantly. Landing beside him gracefully, Fleur kept her eyes on the dark type, ensuring he stayed still. Fleur proceeded to drag the zoroark's body around the tree, gazing around to make sure she was not being watched.

The trio kept a close watch on Xerxes as he finally stirred, groaning in pain. His eyes blinked open and then widened with fright once he saw his captors. Xerxes attempted to flee, but could not move very far, as his body was being constricted by vines from the very ground he lied on. He growled at the three pokémon looming over him, appearing to recognize Fleur. The lopunny scowled down at him, crossing her arms.

"We need your help," she said. "I want you to tell us what we're up against in there."

The zoroark spat, baring teeth, "You're all fools for coming here. What do you think you're going to accomplish?"

"We're going to stop you all from committing any more evil deeds." The zoroark scoffed in response to this, shaking his head. He suddenly looked apathetic.

"Sure, go ahead."

"What?" Fleur looked at Sol and Puru in confusion. They were equally as bewildered.

"You either wind up stopping him or you get obliterated. Whichever one happens doesn't matter to me," the zoroark said bluntly. "You want the honest truth? It's a mess in there right now. That kid's little army dispersed. There's practically nobody left except for him and Malice."

"And you?" Fleur questioned. Xerxes sighed, looking off dreamily.

"It's none of your business. Anyway," he started, his tone smarmy, "that kid got his hands on something. He claims it's the key to gaining his missing form. I don't care what your goal is, but if it's that you're after, I'm pretty sure he still has it."

"Does that have to do with why you invaded?" Fleur asked, a hint of anger in her voice.

"Pretty much," the zoroark answered, strangely relaxed. "It wasn't anything personal. Neither was what happened to your leader." Fleur could feel the heat exiting her body as her anger grew, but she tried hard to keep it contained. The lopunny kneeled down over the downed zoroark.

"Who was that creature? The one who murdered him," she asked quietly, but with a chilling coldness.

Xerxes chuckled. "She's the one who's going to kill you. All three of you," he replied. "You've seen her power, and you still hope to stop her? Well, you can try. I won't stop you." Fleur scowled again and then gestured to Sol with a wave of her hand. Sol lifted up the zoroark, the vines having come from his arm. With Xerxes suspended in air by the grovyle's vines, Fleur walked up to him, wrinkling her nose.

"You're coming with us."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Long Live Lord Malgam

The trio entered the decrepit human building, having Xerxes stay ahead of them to guide them to his leader. Fleur had never been inside of a structure quite like this one. The only other ones she has been in were the ruins of the Sanctuary as well as the cabin that the team of zangoose dwelled in. Just thinking back on those days, the lopunny wondered where they were and how they were holding up. After the incident where she lost her two children, they had been so good to her, trying to console her. Unfortunately, they could not stay for long, as one of them had scouted out a group of humans, most likely the ones who originally owned the cabin.

As the three pokémon of the haven marched onwards, they noticed how eerily quiet and empty it was. It made them wonder just what had been going on in a place this strange with its metallic walls and otherworldly architecture.

Puru suddenly piped up, "So what if this is too much?" Fleur gazed at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Was fleeing ever an option?"

"No," Fleur said sternly, causing the azumarill to flinch. "We can't simply move away from this area. It is sacred."

"Well, speaking of that," Puru said, casually resting his paws behind his head. "I've heard talk of there being warrior spirits. A golurk for example!" His tone shifted to one of excitement. "Can't we get them to aid us?"

Fleur sighed sadly and replied, "After what happened recently with MeiLi, we will have to regain their trust in us. It is going to take a while." There was a long pause that followed.

"I'm surprised you let her stay," Sol spoke up. Fleur crossed her arms and bowed her head.

"It was very tempting to…" She could not finish her sentence, thinking of the horrors of losing a home. MeiLi had grown so accustomed to a home, the lopunny was not sure how she would fare in the wilderness. Sagefox would surely not have sentenced her to such a fate. Sol put his hand on the lopunny's shoulder, smiling.

"I think you did the right thing," Sol said. "I'll make sure I keep an eye out for her though. Might be wise for you to do the same."

"Of course," Fleur acknowledged, nodding.

Eventually, they emerged into a large chamber after having tread down a long corridor. Fleur looked down the room and immediately noticed a familiar figure sitting on the other side—it was a pink-skinned, humanoid pokémon with a long, purple tail, bulbous at the end. This was the creature that murdered Fleur's master.

The lopunny grabbed the zoroark, whispering harshly from behind his head. "Why did you lead us here? We told you to take us to the eevee!"

Xerxes harshly whispered back, "This is the only way to his room!" Fleur did not believe him for a second, but she knew it was too late to turn back at this point. She noticed a malevolent, purple aura growing more radiant around the pink creature, its body floating up in mid-air with its legs crossed. All the pokémon in the room could sense this aura, as if the air itself had turned thin. The psychic type slowly swiveled her head until a single glowing eye met with the party. None of them moved as they met eyes, the mewtwo slowly unfurling its legs. Her feet touched the ground elegantly. Even though a fight had not broken out, Fleur already felt like the creature had complete control of the situation. The mewtwo looked unphased by their arrival, as if expecting them.

Xerxes slowly wavered off to the side, knowing what was about to occur. Fleur did not take action and neither did her companions—they were too fixated on the creature, waiting for her to make any sort of move.

She spoke with a chilling coldness, "I don't suppose you're here to join his non-existent army." None of the three pokémon had a response to that.

After a tense pause, Fleur spoke up, her throat dry from fear. "We're here to speak to your leader." It was a funny thought; by how utterly powerful this mewtwo was, no one would be at fault for mistaking her as the true leader of this gang. Fleur does not remember even seeing this eevee that has been talked about, but she knows what the creatures are like in terms of frame and power. This must have been a truly extraordinary eevee to cause such a huge problem.

The mewtwo then said something that caught all of them off guard. "I am the leader." She smirked, lifting her arms and pointing her palms upward, which began to glow with the malevolent energy. "You are here to stop me." Fleur gulped hard, again feeling like the mewtwo was far ahead of them with every step they took. She could probably predict the outcome of the fight. Fleur could not help but take passing glances at the gauntlets the mewtwo wore, most likely to amplify her power even further. The lopunny felt hopeless, but stood her ground. She looked at her teammates and they did not falter either. She had to remain strong for them.

The lopunny nodded firmly, glaring at the psychic type. "We're here to stop all of you. This violence cannot continue. I won't let you destroy our Sanctuary further!" Without a second thought, Fleur sprung into action, leaping into the air with a profound quickness. The mewtwo did not flinch as she kept her eyes on the falling lopunny with her leg extended for a high jump kick attack. The mewtwo's body undulated bizarrely, and in a second it was gone. Fleur flew forward, unable to stop herself. She braced for a painful impact, but then suddenly stopped in mid-air. The familiar purple radiance formed around her body as she hovered there. Her body was forced to turn around and her eyes met that of the mewtwo, who was smirking wickedly. Fleur looked behind her and could see her teammates, still frozen in place, unknowing of how to approach.

Sol and Puru looked at each other and then nodded. While the grovyle launched himself forward and swung his arm to eject a strong vine, Puru sped forth with a trail of rushing water behind him. Puru collided with the mewtwo, which surprisingly launched her off her feet and into the air. Seconds later, Sol's vine wrapped around her waist, clinging tightly. Fleur fell and landed on the cold steel floor, watching as the mewtwo wriggled in Sol's constriction.

"Her arms!" Fleur yelled, reminding Sol. It was too late, however, as the mewtwo managed to grab on to the outstretched vine. A hot, psychic energy flowed down the vines, taking form of a purple row of flames. The energy coursed down until it reached Sol's arm, after which it engulfed his body with frightening speed. The grovyle screamed in agony, his vine shriveling under the mewtwo's power. Letting go of her, the mewtwo hovered back down, chuckling, her arms once again outstretched to summon more of the purple aura.

"Pathetic," she muttered, her voice running through their skulls despite how quiet it was. The aura was growing more intense by the minute, Fleur's body feeling like it was being squeezed from inside. "There's no need to make this overlong. Let me finish this quickly." The mewtwo's energy intensified. She then stretched out an arm, the energy forming itself into a ball of light that gradually grew stronger. She pointed her arm at Fleur, who froze in terror, spellbound by the energy ball, its surface rippling with a power that the lopunny could feel from where she stood. The ball suddenly exploded, a shockwave of energy racing towards the three pokémon. Fleur watched helplessly, thinking of her children as the burst of psychic power flooded her vision.

The lopunny felt full force of the wave sending her body careening back. Her back hit the ground hard and everything became blurry to her. Fleur's head spun, but that was the extent of the damage she could sense at that moment. Aside from her back, she felt pain nowhere else and was able to move around. Her blood still swirling, the lopunny lifted herself up, perplexed by what just occurred. The move the mewtwo used looked destructive, and yet the rabbit pokémon's body appeared unscathed. Fleur looked around to see Sol and Puru were also lifting themselves up with no sign of harm having come to their bodies. Fleur then looked forward for an unexpected sight—the mewtwo looked outraged, glaring at the gauntlets on her arms, which were shaking. The gauntlets sported purple gems which were now glowing hotly.

"These damn pieces of junk!" she wailed as she attempted to pull off the gauntlets which did not budge even against her strength. The lopunny was greatly intrigued by this, as it seemed the devices in fact did not amplify her power, but instead limited it! Fleur looked at Sol, gesturing to him quickly. The grovyle understandably appeared very reluctant, but then nodded back, leaping onto his feet. He swung his arm, whipping out another vine which coiled around the mewtwo entirely. Her arms pinned against her side, the mewtwo growled as she was lifted up again. Fleur and Puru went to each other's sides, bracing for another kick attack. The two pokémon rocketed into the air, Fleur outstretching her leg and Puru with both of his arms extended outwards. The lopunny and azumarill slammed into the mewtwo with all their might, sending her back into the wall with a defeaning crunch. Cracks were left behind as the psychic type slid down limply.

Fleur watched in horror as the mewtwo then awakened, effortlessly lifting herself up with psychic power alone. She stared at the lopunny with a look of pure hatred as purple beads began to form around her, the aura intensifying once again.

"What's it gonna take to bring her down?" Puru asked with desperation. Fleur could not answer him, not knowing herself. Despite her power being watered down, she was still very much extremely dangerous. The horrible memory of what she did to Sage burned in Fleur's mind as she watched the psychic type approach them, beads still spinning around her figure.

Suddenly a blue blur lurched from Fleur's peripherals. A shining sword-like shape careened towards the mewtwo, sinking into her side. Attached to the shape was Hildegard! The lucario's aura blade sunk deeper into the psychic type, the aura pokémon baring her teeth and snarling as the mewtwo visibly cringed in pain. Lifting her leg, Hildegard gave the mewtwo a hefty kick, launching her into the wall once again. The lucario stood tall, her legs spread apart widely as she brandished the aura blade.

Without even a single gaze back, she said firmly, "Don't give her time to recover." Fleur was flabbergasted at her appearance, but collected her bearings quickly. Sol got the message as well, slamming his claws into the ground. Where they lied, a network of vines billowed up from the ground, speedily making their way towards the downed mewtwo. As the psychic type attempted to get up, the vines were already wrapping around her legs. Constricting her all the way up to her head, the vines began to glow a bright green, sucking away the mewtwo's energy. She howled in rage as she attempted to beckon more of her own power, but only doing so made the draining move even more powerful.

Fleur walked forth and extended her arms, putting all of her focus towards her inner strength. This was a move she had practiced for many seasons, one that would normally not fit a type like hers. With Sagefox's aid, Fleur was able to discover the potential in her to imbue herself with psychic energy. While she was already familiar with this type of power, the mewtwo's was too great for her to fully comprehend, but with exposure, Fleur felt the power seething inside her, begging to be released. Bright, shining beads emanated from her arms as she intensely stared at the psychic type. The move was taking a while to charge, and the lopunny was worried she would not be able to eject the power before the mewtwo would escape Sol's clutches.

Suddenly, she felt her power waning. She looked at Hildegard to see the lucario extending her paw out towards her, the psychic energy visibly coursing to her own body. The aura pokémon was absorbing Fleur's power!

"What are you doing!?" Fleur shouted, the strength in her continuing to wane. The lopunny felt her body seizing. She could not back out of the attack at this point, and not as long as the lucario was connecting with her in order to take the power for herself.

"Trust me!" Hildegard shouted back, to which Fleur felt a strange calmness she never thought she would sense from her. In seconds, the energy had fully merged with Hildegard, the lucario lowering her paw. Fleur collapsed onto her knees, watching the lucario as her aura blade grew at least twice its size. Hildegard herself appeared to be having trouble controlling it, her arm vibrating. Facing the mewtwo, who was tearing away at Sol's vines, the lucario shouted an inspiring warcry, rushing forward with extreme speed. Lifting the massive blade above her head, Hilde swung downwards over the psychic type, the sword cutting straight through her entire body. An explosion of blue energy followed, sending everyone in proximity reeling back. The wall the mewtwo was against crumbled and collapsed against the powerful burst.

Once the smoke cleared, a massive hole could be seen where the wall once was. It opened up to the outdoors, the mewtwo sprawled out on the ground. Fleur, Hildegard, and the others were speechless at the scene for a good while, trying to take in everything that happened. Suddenly a cry of anguish sounded from behind. Xerxes launched himself at the lopunny, claws extended with murderous intent. Puru reacted quickly, lurching forward with a rapid aqua jet. The azumarill slammed into the zoroark, his huge power easily sending him the other direction. Xerxes hit the wall with a reverberating splat, instantly knocked out.

* * *

The party proceeded to drag both the mewtwo and zoroark outside, further away from the building. They found a single tree and with Sol's help, used his thick vines to tie the two evil pokémon together against the tree tightly. The party made sure they were still out cold before returning to the building. Hildegard took the initiative, walking off ahead of them.

Fleur reached out to her, shouting her name. The lucario stopped, signaling that she was listening. "Thank you. Thank you so much." It was all the lopunny mother could say. Fleur knew they could not waste anymore time and had to confront this eevee, but she never expected Hildegard to return. This alone changed her view of her greatly. Maybe the lucario did care after all. Fleur could hear Hildegard grunt quietly but audibly, continuing to pace up the hill.

Suddenly, Sol grunted in pain, kneeling down and grabbing his right hip. Fleur rushed to him, asking, "Are you okay?" The grovyle simply shook his head. Fleur walked over to his right to see that his once bright-green skin in that area had started to turn purplish—purple just like the psychic energy of that mewtwo. The creature had gotten two powerful hits off on the grovyle, but Fleur had never seen anything like this before. "It looks like a burn," she pointed out with a worried tone. Sol chuckled, trying to shrug off the pain. "It looks bad. I think you should go back and seek help."

"I can't just abandon you guys," the grovyle hissed, attempting to stand. Fleur helped him up, supporting him with her shoulder.

"That's unlike any burn I've seen," Puru said, puffing his chest out. "You'd better get some medicine or something in case it's really bad."

"We can't lose you, Sol. Please," Fleur pleaded, looking him in the eye. Sol was clearly very guilty, but he had helped out tremendously already. Thinking for a while, Sol finally gave in, turning tail to head back to Sanctuary. Fleur appointed Puru to go with him in case they were to encounter danger on the way back. Puru was, of course, adamant to this, not sure if Hildegard and Fleur could handle the eevee, but the lopunny assured him as well.

Fleur and Hildegard went back into the damaged building, which looked even worse after the intense aura explosion. Navigating the interior, Fleur kept alert for a door that would stand out to her, one that carried the "device with numbers", as described by Bernard. Unfortunately, they found many doors with this type of device. The group went through all the doors they could find, Fleur inputting the code that Bernard gave to her, but they discovered nothing. The building was strangely empty despite the mewtwo speaking of an army.

The duo eventually came to one last door, one that actually stood out from the rest—this door had one of the crudely drawn posters that were handed out taped next to the door frame. Fleur input the code nervously and the metal doors slid open with hardly a sound. Inside the room was the eevee, sitting atop a cardboard box fort, donning a silly purple cape with an odd device wrapped around his neck. This device had seven gemstones embedded into it, all of them glowing beautifully. Next to the eevee was a pink, blob-like pokémon with beady eyes, appearing jovial as it wiggled around on its box. Fleur knew what this creature was.

"Ditto," the word rang in her mind, having been unveiled to her by her master long ago. This was one of the ancient, rare creatures that dwelled deep in the ruins. These evil-doers were certainly after the ditto, but what would they need it for?

Fleur called out to the eevee, whose attention was still on the blob-like pokémon. The eevee turned his head inquisitively, his eyes swirling hypnotically with a mixture of colors. He smiled mischievously and stood on his two hind legs. It was difficult for Fleur to take the creature seriously with his fat, stubby figure and comical grin, but kept her guard up regardless. Hildegard did the same, and Fleur knew she could sense something very off about him.

"Ah, so I have an audience! Perfect," the eevee said excitedly.

"What are you doing with that ditto?" Fleur questioned sternly. The eevee shrugged.

"Ooh, not much. Other than managing the form that I seek to acquire one day. I think he's finally got it though!" He turned to face the ditto once again and it gazed back at him with a clueless look. "Excellence is close, I can feel it! Hey, do that thing again, why don't you?" he ordered. The ditto looked back at the duo at the door, appearing nervous. "Don't wuss out on me now!" After another awkward pause, the ditto closed its eyes, its body beginning to glow a bright white. Its silhouette morphed and churned until it took up the form of a quadruped, slightly larger than the eevee himself. The whiteness faded away to reveal a pokémon Fleur had never seen in her life. The ditto had morphed into a rather cutesy creature, four-legged and sporting mostly pink fur. It had bows and ribbons attached to the bottom of its left ear as well as its chest, right below the neck. These ribbons flowed and waved about, as if organic. Its eyes were a beautiful sky-blue, its pupils a pure white. The creature had a large smile on its face, a little fang poking out of its lips.

The eevee looked especially delighted. "This is perfection! Look before you, mortals! This is the most powerful form of eevee!"

Hildegard interrupted, pointing out what the eevee was possibly going to follow with. "Sylveon." The eevee gazed at Hilde with a brow raised.

"Very good! So you know of this form already!"

"It's a fairy type. I can down one in a second," the lucario said with a cold demeanor. The eevee did a mighty belly laugh in response.

"Silly lucario. I don't know what this fairy type is that you're on about, but I can guarantee you will never be able to overcome a form as powerful as this." The eevee pat the ditto-turned-sylveon on the head with a single paw, grinning toothily.

"You're an idiot," the lucario spat. The eevee appeared to ignore her, grunting.

"This is the apex of all pokémon." The ditto then started to morph back, the white light engulfing it once again as it reverted to its original, simplistic form. "I will show you!" Once the ditto was back to normal, it squealed as the eevee picked him up, his goopy composition sinking over his paws. What happened next had Fleur and Hildegard staring in horror—the eevee opened his mouth wide, shoving the blob-like pokémon into it. Slurping him up vigorously, the ditto disappeared completely into the eevee's mouth in seconds. The eevee swallowed with a moan of disgust. Smacking his lips, he then smiled, regaining his composure.

"There!" he said, giving his belly a triumphant pat. "You're about to witness me how I should have been from the start. My glory has been written through the ages, and now the prophecies will come true here and now!" The eevee started to wince, his legs shaking, but he continued, "You should, ugh, be honored to attend this event!" He groaned in pain, his stomach growling audibly in rebellion. Hildegard sighed, relaxing her posture and putting a paw on her face. The eevee appeared to be suffering. He grasped his stomach, losing his balance and falling off his box fort, which collapsed with his weight. Fleur just looked on in pure confusion while Hildegard started to laugh quietly, shaking her head in disbelief.

"How can anyone be more of an idiot?" the lucario said. She walked over to the eevee and all Fleur could do is watch as Hilde put a foot on the downed eevee, who was crying in misery. Still, he tried to keep a bright smile as he shouted, "Achieving such levels of perfection would warrant this! It's worth it to go through a little bit of pain! Arrgghh!" Fleur felt sorry for the eevee who seemed so delusional and yet so confident.

"Seems like you aren't going to make it there," Hildegard teased. "The only thing going pink is your face."

"You imbecile!" the eevee shrieked.

Suddenly, to both their sheer terror, the eevee began to glow a radiant white. It was even stronger than when the ditto transformed, both Hilde and Fleur needing to look away from the light. The lucario lifted her foot off the eevee, reeling back and covering her face. The eevee himself began to transform, his figure growing and growing until he was larger than the lopunny herself. Even then it continued to swell to twice their size. While he transformed, his necklace device fell off, clanking against the ground loudly.

"What is this!?" Hildegard shouted over the noise. A very unsettling aura started to fill the room as the eevee's transformation slowed to a halt. The white light waned to reveal a texture that could only be described as cosmic. A space-like blackness covered the morphed eevee, strange patterns swirling about his erratic figure. It shrouded his entire body, the two unable to comprehend what part of him was what. Not even a face could be seen, but just as they observed this, two glowing orbs formed on his front. Another orifice of whiteness opened right below the orbs, appearing as a mouth. The creature bellowed with laughter which reverberated across the room.

"What is it, you ask? It's true greatness in physical form! I feel amazing!" His body began to melt, the cosmic pattern covering the floor completely in a matter of seconds. The waves of blackness washed over Hildegard and Fleur's feet, the two pokémon panicking as the cosmic material started to crawl up the walls as well. Eventually the whole room was covered in the swirly fabric, the duo unable to grasp their orientation.

Fleur felt something wrapping around her waist. It felt cold and slimy, lifting her up with ease. Hildegard appeared to be lifted as well and the lopunny could see strings of the cosmic material wrapping around the lucario's torso. The tendrils started to squeeze violently, Fleur gasping in pain as she struggled to pry herself out of their clutches. Hildegard reacted quickly, her body seething with aura. The aura formed into flames, burning away intensely at the tendrils. They released her quickly and the lucario set her sight to the lopunny. As she rushed to her aid, Hilde was knocked back by a stray tendril. Another one rushed in towards her, but Hildegard was quick to parry it, thrusting out a paw which glowed brightly with a yellow energy. A powerful force palm caused a horrible screech of pain to sound around them as the tendril exploded against the attack.

Again Hildegard rushed to Fleur, releasing another force palm on the string that held her up. It released the lopunny instantly as it tore apart from the blow. The lopunny gasped for air when she landed, putting a hand on her chest. Before they could get a brief respite, the two watched in surprise as the cosmic blanket started to shrink around them, congregating back to the center in the form of an amorphous blob. It undulated and rippled as it grew in size. Suddenly it started to split into four blobs with a sickening squelching noise. The clumps went to all different parts of the chamber, a couple clinging onto the wall and the others remaining on the floor. They retreated to the corners, throbbing disturbingly.

"Stay on your guard! Don't attack yet!" Fleur commanded. Hildegard eyed her in annoyance, but the lopunny knew that she was in agreement. They had no idea what they were in for next.

One of the clumps began to melt into the floor, spreading out just as the eevee's whole body did previously. The gooey material spread over their feet once again, but this time they could feel the goo clinging tightly to them. The duo were unable to move from their spot, pinned by the quagmire. As they struggled to break free, the three remaining clumps started to vibrate vigorously, as if preparing for an attack.

"Stay calm!" Hildegard barked. The lucario kept her body still. As far as she knew, the goo below them did nothing but restrict their movement. Fleur listened to Hilde and settled herself, standing up straight and focusing on the remaining blobs. Suddenly the blobs rocketed from their spots, careening towards the duo. Hildegard parried and struck back at the clumps, summoning her aura blade. As they reared back and leapt once more, the lucario swung mercilessly, dipping and evading the blobs. Fleur was doing the same, keeping her body balanced as she fended off the organisms. Hilde managed to pierce one of the blobs, the blade sinking through entirely and causing it to glow a bright blue with the energy of her aura. It squealed pathetically as it exploded, making a further mess of the room.

The goo beneath their feet began to retract, the clumps gathering together. Hildegard and Fleur just watched, waiting for the next move and not wanting to try anything rash as it morphed. It soon transformed back to its original form, whatever it was. It then began to ripple and churn again to take the form of a giant, quadruped beast, retaining the cosmic texture. He lifted a paw, gazing at it with two white orbs, smiling maniacally.

"I may not look like sylveon, but this is so much better!" His voice was otherworldly, sounding as if it were coming from all around the duo. Suddenly, he lurched his body forward, his forelegs extending just as the tendrils did from before. Each limb wrapped around the two with the elegance of an arbok, squeezing them tightly with their arms pinned to their sides. The limbs were thick and impenetrable, their grasp powerful. Hildegard tried once again to surround her body with her aura, but the energy had no effect. Even coming into contact with the cosmic flesh, it did not cause the transformed eevee to flinch. He laughed sadistically at her misfortune, tightening his grip even more. Hildegard felt her bones pop. She was unable to get air into her lungs.

Soon her vision began to blur, and then everything began to turn white. Save for the monstrosity in front of her, everything was coated in this whiteness. The lucario thought that she could catch sight of a gray blotch emerging from the expanse. It began to take a more familiar form. If Hildegard was able to gasp, she would have. Her insides felt like they had been scooped out. The gray figure took the shape of a human, but it was a much more familiar shape. He appeared to be wearing a short jacket, just as Hilde was. Tears formed in the lucario's eyes as she struggled to say, "Master." The gray silhouette's head dipped, as if it were nodding. It then stretched its arm out towards her as if attempting to grab for something.

Hildegard then felt as if something was expanding inside her chest. Her body grew hot and a blue fire started to form from her middle, except this time it created a pillar. A towering line of incredible aura manifested from her body. The lucario was overwhelmed with emotion, lifting her head and shouting at the top of her lungs. She had felt this before—she remembered what happened after this. The heat in her body grew more extreme as she began to grow. Her aura sensors lengthened as the fur of her lower half changed form; the yellow fur on her back extended downwards to morph into what appeared to be a large, free-flowing tail. Her legs became more slender, the puffy blue fur trimming down to merge with the rest of it. The ends of her limbs became a lush red, her spikes regrowing. Additional spikes emerged further up the limb above the ones already there. The black bits of her fur coursed along her body in an erratic pattern, flowing from her hips down to her legs and from her shoulders to her paws. Hildegard was experiencing mega evolution once again!

Once she had changed completely, the aura was so powerful that the eevee monstrosity could no longer grasp her. It reared its claw back, screaming in pain and waving it.

"Hot! Hot!" he shouted, also letting go of Fleur to grasp his burnt claw. The whiteness disappeared, and with it the silhouette of the lucario's master. She felt an inspiration like never before—now Hilde knew for certain that her master was still by her side, depending on her. She could not, would not fail him!

Jetting forth with blinding speed, Hildegard let loose a flurry of punches so fast that her arms became blurred. With every blow she landed on the monstrous creature, a ring of aura emanated from where she struck, creating a fantastic light show. The eevee appeared affected by the attacks, grunting in agony as the attacks seared through his cosmic flesh. The creature hopped back, trying to escape the mega lucario's punches. It reared its unburnt claw, preparing for a mighty swing. Hildegard, however, had the upper hand in speed. Pressing her paws together, she thrust them forward to eject a large aura sphere, its power amplified by her mega form. The force of the sphere was too great for the eevee to keep footing. The beast, unable to escape the sphere, took the blow, careening backwards into the wall, which crumbled underneath the sheer power.

Landing outside, the monster was weakened, trying desperately to regain its stature, but Hildegard was already outside with it. It scrambled back, afraid of the mega lucario. Hildegard's eyes began to glow, a set of sharp teeth bared as she snarled with rage. Leaping forward, the mega lucario stopped in mid air to perform a divekick with both legs stretched downwards. Her feet collided with the ground with a tremendous force, creating a geyser of aura from where she landed. This geyser sent the eevee monstrosity flying into the air. Right above her now, Hildegard charged one final attack. Pressing her paws together once more, a sphere of aura formed again. This time, however, the mega lucario shaped this aura, slowly distancing her paws as she aimed for the creature above, suspended by the blue energy. Hildegard thought about her master one more time, closing her eyes. With a robust roar, she thrust her paws upwards, sending forth a massive laser of concentrated aura. The monstrosity exploded in a shower of blue sparks and flames, the light blinding Fleur who watched from the hole in the wall. The lopunny covered her eyes, feeling a sudden rush of heat that caused her to stumble.

* * *

The flash of light cleared, leaving behind a sea of blue smoke in the area. Fleur slowly uncovered her eyes, staring in complete awe. The monster was no longer in the air—instead, there was the eevee who had returned to his original form. Hildegard stood tall and proud, her body rigid as she stared upwards. A trail of blue light was wisping from her eyes. Her current form was a true testament to her power, and Fleur was absolutely stunned. She had no idea of this power, and never knew that lucarios could evolve further.

The limp body of the eevee slowly hovered down to the ground, a trail of the blue smoke leaving his body. As he descended, the smog cleared, and Hildegard's body began to glow. The lucario started to shrink slightly, her wavy lengths of fur returning to their normal form. Her spikes reverted as well, still filed down like before. Her aura sensors returned to the bulbous, shorter length they once were. Hilde collapsed onto her knees. Fleur responded quickly and rushed out to be by her side. The lucario was heaving, clearly not used to the form just yet.

"Hilde...that was incredible," Fleur breathed out, not sure what else to say. Hildegard did not seem to pay her any mind, lifting her head to get a look at the downed eevee who was sprawled lifelessly on the ground. "Is he…" In response to the lopunny, Hilde shook her head. Fleur gazed at the lucario in confusion and then gazed back to see the eevee was beginning to stir. His cape was gone and his necklace was still in the room, shattered from the aura blast. All that was left was a powerless, pathetic pokémon who had nothing left to gloat about. There was no sign of the ditto either.

The eevee groaned, coughing roughly. Both Hildegard and Fleur ambled towards him, looming over him. His eyelids creaked open, showing the multi colored swirls. Upon seeing the two pokémon, he whimpered feebly, knowing the condition he was in. Still, he got onto his paws, his legs shaking with weakness. Despite his situation, the eevee still looked up at the duo, grinning sheepishly. He started to chuckle, trying to catch the two off guard, but then he collapsed onto his belly, his legs unable to hold him up for long. The eevee was plainly exerted from the whole ordeal. He began to sob, pounding his paws on the grass with the little energy he had left. Hilde and Fleur just stared awkwardly as the eevee let out all his frustration, wailing woefully. Fleur grasped her chest, feeling her heart sink at the sight of the pathetic creature.

When he was finally done, he wiped his tear-matted face, sighing miserably. "I guess that's that then. It's the fall of Lord Malgam. He has nothing left," he said with little enthusiasm.

"Lord Malgam?" Fleur asked.

"It's not fair!" the eevee shouted, digging his face into the grass. "I worked so hard to get here! I was so close!"

"So that's what you wanted all this time? To evolve into sylveon?" Hildegard asked, crossing her arms. The eevee looked up at her timidly, not wanting to meet her hard gaze. He then nodded, ashamed.

"It should've been so easy," he said grumpily.

"You clearly don't understand what it takes to achieve that," the lucario said. Fleur watched in awe as she lectured him. "It's not something you can genetically engineer. That evolution is the result of a strong bond between pokémon and trainer, which you've obviously never experienced. What are you even doing in this crumbling building?"

The eevee twirled a claw around a piece of grass, looking off with indifference. "I was trying to make an army, but that kinda fell through. You know what? I don't even know anymore." He sighed gloomily. There was a moment of silence until the eevee's ears shot up, his eyes growing wide. He looked at the lucario and asked, "So you know how to become a sylveon?"

Hilde nodded. "I already told you. You need to develop a bond with a trainer." Getting a burst of energy out of nowhere, the eevee hopped onto his paws excitedly.

"It's that easy!?" he exclaimed.

"Hold on now!" Hilde said, extending a paw. "It has to be genuine, you understand?" The eevee was nodding vigorously, listening to her every word. Fleur could not help but smile at the scene. "Humans can help you grow and become powerful. They can make you better than you would ever be in the wilderness."

"Well," the eevee started, grinning nervously. "Funny you say that. I thought I had a bond with those people that took me in a long time ago."

"It was not strong enough, or they were faking it the whole time," the lucario explained, which caused his ears to droop sadly. "But it's not too late of course. Find a person who can take care of you. There are many young and bright trainers out there waiting to begin their journeys." With that, the eevee lit up again.

He nodded over and over again, saying, "Thank you! Thank you so much! You've given me the secret of sylveon!" He leapt onto his hind legs, pointing out towards the sky. "A new Malgam is born today! Look out world!" After that, he turned tail and bounded off.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Hildegard called out.

"Of course I do!"

"Hey, wait!" the lopunny mother shouted. This caused the eevee to stop, looking over his shoulder. She paused before continuing, "Be good, okay?" He proceeded to stare at her for several seconds before scoffing and sprinting off once again.

After he disappeared into the forest, Hildegard and Fleur basked in the quiet sounds of nature, relaxing after the grueling battle. Their bodies ached, and needless to say, they were prepared for a nice long rest. The duo sat down on the soft grass without a word for a while.

Then Fleur spoke up, "That form you had. What was it exactly?"

Hildegard remained quiet before revealing, "It's the Mega form. Some pokémon have it."

"Do you think I have it?" the rabbit pokémon asked.

"I don't know," Hildegard said. "I've never seen a lopunny until I met you." Following that was another long silence between them.

Fleur spoke up once again, "Do you know how to achieve such a form?" Hildegard grinned a little, huffing through her nose as if she had said something dumb.

"Just like with sylveon, you need to have a strong bond with your trainer."

"I've never had one," Fleur said somewhat sadly. "But I don't know if I would ever want one."

"Well, you have a big responsibility now," Hilde reminded her, to which the lopunny nodded in agreement. Another long silence ensued until they remembered the two pokémon they had tied up. Ending their break, they swiftly bounded in the direction of the large tree. Arriving there, they were shocked to find the vines as well as the two pokémon were gone.

 **END OF ARC 3**


End file.
